MJEWEN Spring 2013 Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 2)

Mike,

   Thanks for letting me in the group. My screen name comes from my initials ( R.A. M.) and I used to own a Katana motorcylce so I took the first three letters from that and created Ramskat. Simple and easy to remember.

Tony

Mike,

Thanks for including me, I most certainly wish to join.

Hey everyone,

I just use wrhall2 because William, Rachel (wife,s name) hall last name and 2 of us. I tried being part of a group before and Mike has already showed more leadership. I added you all as friends and clicked the email settings. 

I mentioned before of injuries, and the one big bugaboo for me is my back specifically the SI joint. sacroiliac joint. I see a C-practor and a PT and that helps, also this last year i get some gout in my feet that can derail a training plan. am dealing with that through diet. I did a sprint in June this year (my first) a real eye opener. I was one of those people that could get to shore if you threw me off the boat but i just learned to properly swim this Jan. So my wave takes off and a couple hundred yards out panic sets in because i just couldn't get my breath so i'm looking at the rescue kayak and in at the shore with my kids and g-kids., defining moment somehow summoned a way to push the panic back inside and continued. Then i saw on the bike that 99% had road bikes, mine was a hybrid. saying to myself gotta get me one of those. (I did) and then on the run the SI joint doesn't want to cooperate. I finished in the middle of my age group. 

My goals this year is to listen to my body (i still think I'm 30) and finish an Olympic and an HIM, and compete in a marathon. I live in Pennsylvania and my training will be mostly indoors on the treadmill, bike trainer, and pool. I am starting a 20 week marathon program to lead into a May 26th race in York, PA. got that one at http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_4/130.shtml.For swimming i use a site called swimsmooth.com which is very instructional, helpful.

Questions: Need structure for the bike trainer really don't know what i'm doing there. 2. Am thinking of areo bars for the bike. yes or no to that. 3. What kind of supplements does everyone use? and has anyone heard of Ben Greenfield and his site bengreenfieldfittness.com a wealth of information? Thanks for listening and i am looking forward to training with all of you. 

Good morning!  Daniel here...

This sounds like a great group and I am looking forward to a great adventure. 

longrun26 - I have run 10 marathons!  That is where the label "longrun26" comes from.  I only count the marathons I have run since 2001.  I have had three back surgeries since I was rear ended by a semi while I was waiting for a red light to turn green.  I was told I would never run another marathon by one of my surgeons.  Well, 10 and counting!  My right ankle is wrapped with 10 "Running Man" tattoos.  I may not be as fast but always finish and have trained three separate groups of first timers and every member has made it across the finish line.  I use the Galloway method and Jeff has been a guru and huge supporter of my running.

Interestingly, I made some huge life changes as a result of my back issues. I left a great career as Director of Organizational Leadership at a large pharma company and now teach 7th grade lit/la.  I have turned my life to be a role model and mentor to children.  Great journey!  Also, I am enrolled in a principal leadership program.

I look forward to training with the group, dropping weight and gaining confidence as a triathlete.  My wife and I are heading up to our lake home in northern Door County WI for the new year.  Time to reflect on 2012 and look forward to an exciting 2013.  Bringing my snow shoes and P90X tapes. 

To a great 2013!!!

Thank you Mike for those detailed instructions! I've been on this site for a couple of years and had never done any of those things. I'm really looking forward to participating in this group.

My user name is a mash-up of my first, middle and last names - not very fancy, but I like the ring of it.

As far as plans go, I recently imported one of the BT plans into my log, but I have not kept to it over the holidays. I basically did no training at all whatsoever for the entire week of Christmas

I like to run and swim, but have trouble getting out on the bike - that is also where I feel my training and fitness are weakest, so that's what I really would like to focus on this season.

Bill, to answer your question about structure for the bike workout, I am ordering some DVDs to use on the trainer. I saved a list of good dvds that I have to find somewhere on my mess of a desk. I'll post what I'm ordering as soon as I find that.

Also, Bill, that is a very inspiring story of the challenges you got through in your first triathlon!

Daniel - wow, that's quite a change from corporate life to being a teacher. Good on you!! I think it's wonderful to have teachers who have come into education from other walks of life.

KenW and Daniel - I use the Galloway method, too. I used a 3:30/1:00 ratio to do my marathon last fall. It took me 5:27 to finish which was real miracle since I had been struggling with knee pain (that was the 2nd flare-up that I had last year) and was unable to run at all in the 2 weeks prior to the race. I was so worried that my knee would start to swell and hurt and I would have to quit. It never did, and I finished feeling really good and recovered super quickly. My knee even felt great.

So, it looks like we have a few people here who are dealing with injuries - actually, I find that very encouraging to hear about others who deal with challenges like that and I look forward to hearing how you all manage your training (Denise with your ankle, Emily, your knee, Emile, your hip...)

KenL, those are some amazing improvements in the marathon!! Your goals seem totally realistic to me, given what you have accomplished in running.

Laurie, I second what Emile said. If there is any way you can get into a swim class - even just a few meetings with a coach - that would help you out immensely, I think. I just took a masters class that only met 6 times, but the improvements were really huge. Swimming is so much about technique.

Jessica - I will be so interested to hear what your training is like in Belgium! I bet you will have lots of great places to bike and run.

longrun26 - Daniel

Playing with settings - adding friends, training logs...  I am very new to this.

Can someone explain the benefits of the "Free, Bronze, Silver, Gold" memberships? 

As a group is there a benefit to one over the other?

Thanks in advance...

My college room mates use to call me emdalem which is combination of the two words  Emily and dilemma. I use to lock myself out of our house a lot and I owned a unreliable Toyota which lead to a of dilemma's. and I am 43.how in the heck did I get to be 43  

Happy New Year everybody.  Glad to be part of this group. Yesterday was a travel day for me. I had spent the past two weeks near Colorado Springs with family.  

screen/BT name tmoons is - no mystery here- Terrence Moons but most everyone calls me Terry.

I have named my blog tmoons and added everyone as friends.

"Qestions: Need structure for the bike trainer really don't know what i'm doing there. 2. Am thinking of areo bars for the bike. yes or no to that. 3. What kind of supplements does everyone use? and has anyone heard of Ben Greenfield and his site bengreenfieldfittness.com a wealth of information? Thanks for listening and i am looking forward to training with all of you."

Good Morning.... I can't help you on any bike issues, It's my weakest portion.

These are the supplements I use:  BSN product Amino-X pre/during strength training; BSN Syntha-6 protein powder (vanilla ice cream flavour);  Hammer endurolytes tabs for race day and long training; Power Carb for biking carbs (zero sugars).

I like BSN products because, for me, the powder mixes the best with water and tastes great.  I use GU/Hammer gels when I do distance runs/rides or whatever they're handing out at the race.  I also like to drink Coconut water after a race..

We bought a Vita Mix blender a few months ago and it's probably THE best supplement for me. I can now enjoy "drinking" my greens (kale, brussell sprouts, spinach, broccoli) mixed with apples, carrots and raspberries and add flax seed oil and sliced almonds or other nuts to get a nice liquid meal supplement. 

I hope this helps answer your supplement question.

Happy New Year everyone!

LMarbas is just first initial and last name, nothing too exciting.  I will be setting up the training log today.  Any suggestions on training programs for HIM?  My date in August 4th. 

I also bought some swim gear and biking shorts.  I am not looking forward to the the first few weeks and getting used to the seat, any thoughts there?

I will see if I can get swim lessons in order, tough some weeks as I take call 7 days straight every month so this should be interesting but I will get it done. My daughter, Emily, is home from college and said she would go with me to the pool.  My kids swam competitively year round for 5 years so I am sure she will be able to help.  Will be strange to be on the receiving end of that!

Blog name: Goal: No drowning, butt sores, or walking

Happy New year!

KenL works great for me... my last name actually starts with L, so it will be easy to remember

I picked my screen name based on my prolific swimming skills

Glad to be part of a great group, looking forward to training/learning with you all...

Hi Jessica,

Getting into this group is certainly a good place to start. Something i have had to learn that i will pass on to you is "Patience" you can't get their quickly and this is something of a lifestyle. It was something i wasn't acquainted with but is necessary in this process. Good luck 

Hi Terry,

I to have used some Hammer products, (Sustained Energy)( Perpetuem) Endurolytes and gels, tried some protein powder. At this point i don't want to gain any more bulk, trying to get a bit more wirery. I have that football player kind of look and am trying to shed that to gain speed. The things i take regularly are: MSM 1000 for my joints (i swear by it) Vitamin D, Fish Oil, Cod liver oil and what i believe is the most important, Magnesium I use 2 different forms sometimes i use Chelated 400mg at bedtime it is a great way to enhance sleep or i use a product called Natural Calm which because its in a powder and is dissolved gets into your system quickly. It is important because without it your body has a hard time absorbing anything else. Most of us are deficient at some level. Especially athletes and people under a lot of stress. 

Hey Laurie,

I didn't know how to properly swim so i asked the swim coach at the college i work at, she gave me a couple of lessons and would check up on me once in a while. 2 other things i found to be helpful was getting a wetsuit and doing some open water swims in a nearby lake with a boat trailing me for safety and going to a website called swimsmooth.com they are excellent in sorting things out in your form and technique. hope this  helps. I am still a work in progress and if anyone has some tips to send my way i am open to suggestions .

Daniel here...  Happy New Year!

Still working to understand how to use the exercise logs and come up with a training plan. I am comfortable with biking in below 20 degree temperatures and snowy roads so the health club spin classes will be my anchor for the next few months.  Running in the snow is enjoyable - although it makes me even slower than I am on dry land.

As far as supplements, I have used Hammer Gel products for years for my marathons and have had excellent success with them.  The rest is a Paleo lifestyle with no sugar, grains or processed foods.  The diet solves most of my carbo loading issues.  And drink water...

It is nice to get to know everybody better from the posts.

Happy New Year!

Ha! That's great.

So, as far as nutrition goes, I mostly use some kind of gu for longer bike rides or the shot blocks gel type fuel. For running only, I find that about 100 cal. every 5 miles is fine for the longer runs. I don't have a good rule of thumb for biking, so I just try to get some fuel in me every hour.

Thanks! I will definitely check that out. I will get in the pool tonight and see how it goes.  I definitely will need to get in open water which is an excellent idea to prep.  I will wait until it gets a little warmer though! LOL

I ordered DVDs from swimsmooth.com including one to help with open water techniques. I will be using that one after the one that teaches you proper form.  Getting really excited about this!!

Bike training plans - for indoor bike workouts I would recommend getting a trainer and use the bike you will be racing on during the season.  Some of you are new and a trainer (and possibly a bike) would be an added expense you may not want to make at his point.  Understood.  This site has 3 specific bike plans ? http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/training/trainingplans... but it looks like all require a bronze membership.  One is a basic plan, one is heart rate based which requires a heart rate monitor and the last is power based which requires some way to measure power such as a power meter.  Not to despair!  I have about 10 bike workouts which my tri club uses for winter group workouts.  I can email these to anyone who is interested.  I have found riding inside to some kind of planned workout to much better than just riding with no specific targets.  Here is a sample:

00:00 – 05:00 (Small - 15) Warm-up easy 80-90 cadence

05:00 – 08:00 (Big - 15 / Small - 15) (30 Sec Hard / 30 sec easy) X 3

08:00 – 14:00 (Big – 23) 4X1 Min Hard, 30 secs easy. 1^st Minute, Big 23 - 100 cadence, 2^nd minute Big 19 - 95 cadence, 3^rd Minute Big 17 – 95 cadence, 4^th minute Big 15 Standing.

14:00-18:00 (Big - 17) Steady building to 85% effort.

18:00 – 20:00 – (Small – 15) Easy

20:00 – 30:00 – (Big – 23) Change gears every 2 minutes. Start at B21 or23. Harder gear each 2 minutes until you reach just under 85% of your max

30:00 – 34:00 – Off Bike –30 secs squats, 30 secs iso squat, 30 secs rest, 15 sec squat, 15 secs speed squat, 15 secs iso.

34:00 – 36:00 (Small – 15) Easy

36:00 – 46:00 - (Big – 23) Change gears every 2 minutes. Start at B21 or23. Harder gear each 2 minutes until you reach just under 85% of your max

46:00 – 49:00 (Small - 15) 4x 45 sec: One leg drills, 30 sec each leg w/15 sec rest..S17 C90+

49:00 – 50:00 (Small - 15) easy

50:00 – 57:30 5x1min on w/30 sec rest. 90% of FTP. During the 1 minute on hold around C95. During the 30 rest keep the same gear but hold around 80rpms.

57:30 – 65:00 Cool Down - Stretch

Terms:

Small – Small Front Chain Ring

Big – Big Front Chain Ring

Ex. (Small - 15) – Small Front Chain Ring 15 in back. Assuming 10 speed rear 21 is the largest and 12 is the smallest.

Cadence – Pedal Revolutions per minute

Iso – Hold form in down position for example bottom of the squat rep, no movement in iso do not bounce. ?

Here's my replies to some other questions.

Bill - Bike training, see previous post.  Aero bars will buy you some speed even on a road bike.  If you add areo bars to a road bike a re-fit would be a good idea because your posture changes as you get lower and become more areodynamic.  I do not use any supplements.

Daniel - the paid memberships here at BT get you more benefits of the site such as more training plans (see the bike training post, all of the cycle plans require a bronze membership), more articles, coaching (gold).  I use the site a lot and have been a bronze or silver member for the last 3-4 years. 

Laurie - - not what you may be thinking...but Time In The Saddle will help you adapt and get comfortable on the bike.  That is one reason I recommend using your own bike and getting a trainer, you will be getting used to your own saddle and when you can start riding outside you'll be ready to go. 

Also, I strongly second Bill's recommendation of the swimsmooth site, it's a great resource.  There are some other sites with lot's of workouts.  Again, like I said about the bike, having a planned swim workout with a warm up, main sets and cool down is much better than just going to the pool and swimming.  Structure to your workouts is key.  You can add this to your training log to help you compare to previous workouts and measure performance gains. 

Here is a short article on the benefits of a training log.  I find many of Active's articles to be pretty simple often stating just the obvious but they are typically short and to the point.

http://www.active.com/triathlon/Articles/Ten_reasons_to_keep_a_training_diary.htm?act=EMC-Active&Vehicle=Triathlon&Date=01_04_09&Edition=1&Sections=Articles&Creative=Ten_reasons_to_keep_a_training_diary&TextName=More&ArtText=Txt&Placement=1&Dy=Mon

I'll post some questions every once in awhile to generate some discussion, feel free to answer as few or as many as you like....

1. Who has a HRM (heart rate monitor) and if so what brand/model?
2. What type/brand/model bike(s) do you have?  Does your bike have a name(Don't laugh many people name their bike)?   
3. What brand/model running shoes do you wear?  Same or different for training vs racing?  

More to come in the future....if anyone else wants to ask the group general questions, jump right in.