Destination MoP is FULL (of motivation!) (Page 20)

Hi all,

A milestone for me...

Yesterday I noticed I was scheduled for a 40 minute run and started to think about how far that would be.  First calculation told me that would be around 3 miles at my current training pace.  Well heck, that's close enough to round up to 5k.  Told myself to give it a go.  And now I gald to share that I made my first training run of 5k distance in 40:19. 

Keep up the good work everyone -Steve

Yeah!!!    Way to keeping going.

Fantastic job, Steve!  That is indeed a big milestone!

Yea! Great Job Steve! 

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a free triathalon clinc put on by the Luna Chix Tahoe Mountain bike racing team.  What a great group of women!  The clinic was done in preparation of the Donner Lake triathlon coming up in a few weeks.  I didn't sign up for this event, specifically because of the huge climb on the bike.  Well today I did it!  I actually stopped and one of the coaches was right behind me and said, "No, no you are not stopping!"  I really wasn't stopping for a rest but to turn around and go back! I had forgotten my bike shoes and wasn't even going to attempt the ride in my clipless peddals and running shoes so I was fine with turning around; I had accomplished more than I had planned.  But, before I could get any of those excuses out she was explaining what happened and how to beat the hill.  Wendy was great I was back on the bike and she got me to the top and I survived, shoeless and all! 

Note to self...do not, never ever, "party" with old pilots re-living their glory days, until the wee hours of the morning, the day before a mini tri!  Though I did not drink I was up way too long last night.  I may as well have drank the way I felt the next morning!  We then did a 5k run  after the ride and I finished second to last in the entire event.  But on the good side I won the raffle and have my entry paid for either the Donner tri or the Lake Tahoe Tri.  I had planned on attending the Lake Tahoe Tri, but I may add the Donner now that I know I can do the climb! 

Congratulations to everyone who's achieved something over the last few days.  Sounds like we've had some real milestones!

Steve - 5k is a really good distance to reach.  Well done, and keep up the good work.

Cynthia - well done on that hill!  It's great when you realise you can do something that you thought was beyond you.

Do we have any race reports from this weekend?  Looking forward to hearing all about it.

My count down to the "big" race has well and truly started.  5 days to go.  I'm a strange mix of confidence and terror at the thought of it.  The last week has been fairly horrible because I developed really bad back pain last monday after an 8 mile run.  I couldn't work out what I'd done because I wasn't aware of pulling anything, it just started hurting afterwards.  Anyway, after exchanging text messages with my physio I've realised that I hadn't been doing my stretches enough, and I've actually just let it build up over the last few weeks.  So loads of time on the foam roller, lots of ice packs and remembering to stretch it whenever I can and the back is finally feeling better.  Still not right, but a lot better.

This weekend's big achievement, and the thing that has really helped my confidence for next week was that yesterday we went for a 50 mile bike ride.  I finally did a decent distance.  It's still not quite as far as I have to go next week, but the hills around where I live more than make up for the extra distance (the race route is relatively flat).  We covered a total ascent of 5456ft over the distance, and nearly 1000ft of that was in about 3 miles at one stage.  I've never cycled hills like it.  We had a lot of stops at the top of hills because we had a friend with us who is doing her first sprint at the weekend, and we didn't want to kill her, but we all made it up them all.  The best part was after the insanely horrible hill, when we finally reached the top (not the bits along the way that we thought were going to be the top) and saw the view.  It was just fabulous.  We then had about 2 miles of continuous downhill, during which I was grinning all the way.  I got to a top speed of 44mph, which is pretty quick for me.

So that's my last long session.  I'll be having a few short sessions until wednesday and then resting to try to be nice and fresh on Saturday.

Cynthia - nice job on the hill!  That barrier is gone so now you'll have to up it on every time you tackle it!

Rachel - congrats on getting the last long bike in.  will make this coming weekend less daunting.

Waiting for Philly race report...

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I figured out why my shoulders were so tired during my race last weekend.  It was from riding down in the drops (if that is the right term) more than ever.  I did a 24 mile ride this weekend and focused on bent arms and being in the drops.  Later on that day noticed that shoulders were quite tired.  So no I'm focusing on being in the drops during my commutes as much as possible.

Great weekend everyone!

I am happy to say I finally had a great workout week last week.  I managed to do all my workouts including 2 weight days but, I could tell by my Saturday long ride.  My legs were very tired from the get go.  It was a long, hard and slow ride compared to normal (finished feeling like JELLO). I am hoping that my body will get used to getting in all my workouts, as this is one of my goals for now through July.  I do not want to be dragging by every Saturday.

So here is to a new week

Have you considered nutrition?  I'm having this very same discussion with our daughter this week. Tired (and soreness) is not only a sleep (or training) issue.  Granted, in your case, it is probably due to quick jump up in workouts, but it gave me the excuse to post the link :-)

Why is it 95 here in France too?  and no a/c!  Ufff... hopefully better in a few days :-)

First, a huge apology to the entire group for not participating in the awesome discussions. Let's just say that my summer school class is over, my long tennis season is over and we are now in mixed doubles league which is much more relaxed. Whew. It's been a long Spring and I'm so glad I can refocus on triathlon training! I've been having terrible achilles problems and I guess I'm passed the 3 month mark. So, long story short, I cut out the excessive tennis clinics and running only 1 time per week and I'm on the mend.

Last Saturday was a great run along the American Tobacco Trail. If you ever find yourself in the middle of North Carolina, the RTP area, then you must put it on your list of places to bike or run. It is more than 22 miles and is covered in trees so when it's over 90 the shade is awesome! Plus, it's pretty flat.

I've been increasing my biking and swimming too so feeling good as I prep for a 10 k on the 9th and then a tri in early Sept.

Again, I apoilogize for not being a good blogging participant but please know it isn't because I don't want to participate. I seem to have a job that kills me and a house overrun with chores. It's really great to read about how you all are helping each other.

Joanne

??So my 1st tri - Philadelphia Sprint distance - was on Saturday, 6/25.  My race report, which probably has too much personal reflection for most, is here: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=258506.

Looking back, I could have pushed myself much more on the run, which I ended up walking & running, so that was very disappointing for me, as was my swim - I just never really got focused & felt slow the whole time.  However, I did "keep a pleasant face" - thank you, Cynthia! - so even when I wasn't feeling thrilled to be there, I looked like I was & that helped me and the other participants, I think. 

Based on the after effects, I would say my big lessons: 1) I needed more water & a lot less Gatorade (I had stomach & intestinal pains the rest of the day & that's all I can really attribute it to); 2) I need to figure out how to increase my swim speed - I suspect I, too, have a "lazy stroke" & plan to meet with a trainer for a session or 2 to work on my swim; 3) I need to work on my core (even if it means not training as much in tri sports; 4) I need to work on overall endurance & fitness - running to/from transition took more from me than it should have.

My knees are pretty sore from the event & I want to make sure before my next tri (Aug 21) that I give my patellar tendinitis a chance to fully heal before I really start running again to train. I would welcome training plan suggestions since I don't have one set up after Saturday's race, need to keep the above in mind & also need to lay off of running for a couple weeks to heal my knee.

Big congrats Jennifer!!  WTG!  Fantastic job :-)

btw, personal reflection is the way to go on the race reports.  Reviewing them will help you prepare for August.

Congrats again on a fabulous achievement!

Stu

Congratulations Jennifer!  You completed a triathlon!  Celebrate!  That's much more than most people ever consider doing.  I really liked your race report.  

I think personal reflection is a large part of what this (the overall process of training, testing oneself in an event, and celebrating what's been accomplished) is all about - so thanks for sharing.  

Keep up the training and I look forward to meeting you in August!  

Great Job Jennifer! I'm sure you will find all your comments helpful for your next triathlon! I hope you are able to let your injury to your knee heal and then remember to be slow and steady on your return to running.

All,

It is the end of the month and I would have to say June wasn't the best training month for me. I did meet 3 out of my 6 goals, but I really need to focus on July & August and make them great training months. So here goes for July:

July Goals:

1. Four solid weeks of training, with no major gaps. Which means, getting on the bike trainer at night if I haven't had time to squeeze in a workout during the day, even when I don't want to.

2. Continued weight loss, hopefully drop another 2lbs by the end of the month. This involves, drinking more water and eating LESS chips.

3. Successfully complete the Norway Triathlon on 7/9/11. If all goes well, I will better my time. Success though, will be having a great first tri of the season, and handling any adversity that comes my way.  Last year I had a hard time at T-1 when the woodchips from the run up from the lake and my socks didn't get along. This year, no socks and I will have a bucket of water at T-1 to rinse off the feet.

4. Completion of Ragnar 7/22/11. This race last year was tough mentally and physically. Now that I know what to expect, I'm hoping some of the anxiety will go away. Officially runner No. 1, my legs are 12.7, 7.9, & 10.9, it should be interesting. Our group pace is ~9:30 so it should take around 29 hours to complete. Good news is that will definately fill my running requirements for that week. LOL.

What's on tap for everyone else in July?

Hope you all have a fun 4th!

Christine

June recap / July goals

Christine, I will make you feel good :-)  I hit 1, count it 1, out of my 6 goals (maybe 1.5 if I'm generous with one).  I knew this month was going to be difficult due to 3 trips, but what I didn't take into consideration was a) that I'd still be working on the project at work that had a June 1 deadline and b) that the travel would just make me plain tired.  As it was, June was a step backward.  On the plus side, I had my first AG podium finish which was a long-term goal and I've found some delightful places to run in Lyon (though the concrete or something is tweaking my joints).  So, going into July, the first two weeks are definitely going to be more hit and miss training and then I need to have a solid week starting July 17 until my family arrives.  Truth be told, I'm probably going to be a little sporadic until I drop my daughter at school in early September.  Sometimes that's just the way it is.  Lots of good life juggles :-)

July Goals

- Make good use of the training window I do have and not get down on myself when there's too much to juggle

- Eat well, take advantage of the summer bounty of fresh fruit and veggies

- Be consistent with the running, swimming is low priority.  Don't let myself get out of running condition as my Fall 'A' race is the Richmond Marathon.

And speaking of the marathon, any tips (especially mental ones) for marathon training from those of you who have a couple of Marys behind you? 

Hope everyone has a Happy July 4th (Rach, you can celebrate getting rid of us pesky Yanks) and, by gum, we're halfway through 2011... hope it's been a great year for you thus far!

Stu

June Goals

	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3 (race week)	Week 4
Swim 3 x week	3	2	2	3
Run 3 x week	4	1	1	2
Bike Commute 5 x week	3	5	4	3
Bike Long 1 x week	1	1	0	1
Stretch 5 x week				2
Bike to Run Transitions 2 x week	2	0	Sat practice	-
Swim to Bike Transition 1 x week			Sat practice	-
Alcohol only Friday & Saturday
Trisuit & Wetsuit Swim prior to race				-

July Goals

June recap

Swim training: missed a couple of sessions this month.  Need to be more consistent on the early morning swims.  I'm pretty happy with my form and progress.

Bike training: Going well, improved from 12.6 mph to 14.6 mph on 14 mile route in the last month.  Focus was to get in the big ring and drops as early as possible on the downhill and to continue to grind on the uphill.

Run training: Also going well, improving pace and adding distance.  I have noticed that my legs don't hurt as much after a run.

Nutrition/Weight loss: continue to lose ~1 lb/week.  I'm now down 10lbs from the end of April.

July Goals

Follow training plans!

-Steve

Melanie, I love your Excel sheet! Would love to have a copy if you do not mind.  I'm sure you have a weekly one as well?  You did great for June, keep up the great workouts!

My July Goal

1. BIG One for me - meet my with my Running Buddies at 5am at least 2x's a week.  So hard to get up and run when I know I can sleep in but, it is the only non treadmill time I get.
2. Keep Swimming (need lots more endurance)
3. Alternate Saturday Long Run and Long Bikes
4. Start getting used to open water swims - signed up for a August Sprin Open Water tri to force myself into this one.  I do not want to wait till my Olympic Tri before I have an open water swim race.
5. Keep up with good nutrition! Find more ways to add veggies to food without my kids knowing it (other wise they will not eat as many)!
6. Stretch, Stretch, Stretch