Baowolf mentor group is [ Closed ] (Page 20)

Good Morning! Its Monday; is everyone worn out from weekend training or racing? I know I am feeling the effects of a large training week and race.

Steve - Great job on first place! Also I took a minute to notice you are being sponsored again this season. Very cool!

Now, I have a few questions. Since I set up my training plan on BT I have found myself often going faster than the pace I initially put in. For example, I said I am able to run 13mph, swim a yard in 3m and bike at 15mph. For most of my workouts I finish the mileage before the time my plan says. Am I going to fast? I don't feel like I am. I try to stay in the zones they tell me to and listen to my body's needs as I am going. Would you recommend I just stay with it as is? If so, what is more important: getting in the miles the plan says or going for the time the plan allots? I have been going with the mileage because I don't want to do more than I should be doing based on where I am in the training, which leads me to my next question. I am really struggling to keep my calves and now quads from being sore and really tight. I have the marathon stick and I torture myself with it often and I have done some icing. Is this a normal occurrence for someone who is putting in more miles?  Thoughts? And reading your post about the run mileage would you say I am on track to be ready for my HIM August 5? Are you able to see my planned training?

This week is recovery and I am so glad. My race yesterday went really well. The crowd was overwhelming. I spent 7.46m trying to not run people over. I think I added .4m to my overall distance from dodging and weaving. Next year I will try to start at the FOP even if they all leave me in the dust at least I won't have 100 of people walking in front of me. But the sun came out after weeks of no sun and I was faster than I ever thought I would be.

1:26:35 for 7.46m = 11.36/m That is fast for me. I felt strong most of the way. There was a few minutes around mile three when I considered walking for a bit, but I didn't. After that I got into the running groove. The race is has a famous hill at mile 5 called Doomsday hill. It is .72 mi and you gain 152ft. of elevation. So it isn't terrible; it is just long. I committed to run the entire thing and ended up doing great. By the top my breathing was heavy, but I recovered very quickly. That is the furthest I have ever run in my life and it is halfway to my HIM distance. I am excited!

Alright everyone. Thanks for enjoying the journey with me. This group is a large part of my inspiration.

Wooohoo!!! Nice race Samantha!  Great job on that hill, and on exceeding your own expectations.  Yes, starting at the back of the pack is not profitable, unless of course you are trying to get a little more mileage in than advertised .  This should be a great confidence boost to your running.  Very happy for you!

Quasi, well at least I'm not suffering the pool alergies alone!  I'm taking zyrtec, and bought some saline nasal spray this morning.  Also asked the gym manager if they had changed anything, and she said no.  Although I know they at least changed pool maintenance vendors recently.  This is a bromine pool, so wondering if moving to another gym/pool with chlorine would help.  Maybe a sign that it's time to give up the gym membership in favor of masters swim.

Oh, and a neighbor had some kind words for me this morning how I look now.  The thing that really stood out for me was when she said "I have watched you tranform".  I've been sloppy with my eating habits, and put on a few lbs post marathon.  Her comment solidified the resolve that was already forming in my mind to get back to calorie reality before I really start to UNtransform. 

Grats on the race Samantha, maybe not FOP for your next race start, but MOP.  You can look at last year's race results for any race and then look at your goal pace and figure out roughly where you need to start to not either run over or get run over others too much.  Your legs may be tighter with your workouts, races in particular can make your calves tight. 

Will you be ready to rock your HIM.... lets take a look.

Run miles per week: 2, 9.5, 15, 10, 9.  (looking for more run consistency here and steadily increasing your long run) the 4/16 week was good, but then less running for 4/23 and 4/30.  Your long run is now 7 and you have 12 weeks.  So a long run of 5 (recovery week this week) 8, 9, 10, 8, 11, 12, 13, 10, 14, 8 race will work.  But you need to have those longer runs supported by consistent weekly runs.  I would definately run by distance as it gives you a better look at your paces and your race is based on distance, so it lets you know where you want to be. 

Your bike: 23,48,24,38,43.  Again not hugely consistent in your build, but you have a 30 mile ride at a solid pace.  So if we go long bike 30 (recovery week) 35, 40, 45, 35, 50, 55, 60, 45, 65, 40, race you will be alright. 

You have only been back at swimming for 2 weeks, but it looks like you will be able to go the distance in the swim alright. 

As a general statement it is really helpful for folks to have a more solid base before starting a HIM program because you guys/gals are realy gona be tired getting to the starting line.  Samantha has time to get in 4 decent longer bike rides, but only 2 decent longer runs.  This will be enough to finish the race (but you need to pace yourself cautiously during the race).  Ideally you would want a few more higher distance runs in there, but to "just finish" you are on track.  Going faster in a race may require 7 runs of 13 miles or more rather than 1. 

So yes, Samantha you are on track, but on race day I want you at a steady effort, no adrenalin fed supper bike split followed by walking most of the run.  Stay with it and stay consistent, you have the time.    

Carol, I get a bit more nasal from bromine than cholrine, so that may be the ticket.  For me pine pollen in the lake is the worst though.  That stuff will clog me up for 2-3 days. 

Grats on the skinny athlete look comment from the neighbor, can't knock that, something is working.  It is really hard to cut back calories when working out less.  If anything I find I eat more when I am not working out as much, because I am around food more and my body is saying "I remember that I need to stock up on calories."

Wow a 2000 calorie deficit in a day.  I could never do that.  So with a 13 mile run in a day I would only be able to eat 800 calories for the day, so like 2 glasses of milk and a pbj sadwhich.  If I were only doing a 4 mile run for that day I would have to eat less than 0 calories, because then I would only be at a 1900 calorie deficit.  Remember that this is a lifestyle and that if you run a 400 calorie deficit for a couple years you should be fine. 

Carol - That is an awesome compliment. It is one thing for someone to tell you you look good, but when they see a total transformation that means the lifestyle change you wanted is now a reality. And you get too look good! Woohoo! Thanks for the compliments on my run. It really was good.

Steve - That sounds great. I knew I would be pushing it going into a HIM so late in the game. Last year I kind of gave up on training and then I was hit again with the realization of the passion I have for this sport and achieving my dream of IM CDA. So I appreciate your feedback. I do desire to just finish the HIM and not feel like I want to die, but I don't care where in the pack I finish. I will make sure my plan coincides with your number recommendations. It is coming up sooner than I realize, but your thoughts give me the confidence that I am on track to successfully complete the race. I just have too keep my muscles healthy. I will be doing 4 runs weekly to keep my legs progressing and look forward to seeing it all work out.

How are you feeling? Lungs still junky?

headed to the pool for a short 1200. I need help interpreting this:

Set #2 150 yards
Endurance
Intervals: 2x75' on 5' rest

I don't know how to interpret the (') after the 75 or 5.

Thanks!

Hi Everyone.  Another Tri under my belt!  I Raced Wildflower Sprint on Saturday.  My goal was to beat last years time by 10 minutes.   

LAST years stats:   1:31:54 Final.     Heres how it broke down:   14:02/T1 5:01/50:10/T2 2:42/19:59  (1/4 mi swim, 9.7Bike, 2mi run)

I didnt quite make the 10 min. 

THIS years Stats:   1:25:09 Final.    Heres how it  broke down: 10:06/T1 5:00/47:26/T2 2:46/19:51.

I'll take the 6 Minutes faster.    Chk out my race report! 

Also, Had a fantastic swim this morning. 2550!   

Set #2 150 yards
Endurance
Intervals: 2x75' on 5' rest

I don't know how to interpret the (') after the 75 or 5.

I would say it like this: Swim 75 yards without stopping.  Stop and rest for 5 seconds at the end of the 75 yards.  Then swim another 75 yards without stopping and rest for 5 seconds before going on to the next section of your workout.  (2x75, rest 5 seconds) totaling 150 yards. 

Significant PR there on your Sprint.  Nice balanced inprovement. Pat yourself on the back, you deserve it!

Thanks Steve!

Elena - Great job on your tri. Your times look fantastic and 6 minutes is something to be proud of!

Larry - I tell my friends about you because I am so impressed by your commitment to fitness and weight loss. You inspire people you know and the people who are watching you from a distance. You are demonstrating the possibility of living a lifestyle of health and activity no matter where the starting point is.

I did my 1200 yard swim today and thought to myself, "I remember when swimming this distance seemed impossible, and now it seems short". I love how time, patience, and practice make it possible for people to accomplish something they believed would never be possible. I am living that reality and so are all of you. Yeah!

Great job everyone.  I saw some nice races in there... Way to go.

I'm still having foot issues.  No running for me for the last few days.  Went to swim in the pool at the gym this morn and it was so dirty I just couldn't get in!!  Did the indoor trainer tonight.  Gonna take a few more days off the foot and try running again in a few days.

I'd love to be doing a few races about now but I just can't seem to get this foot thing under control.

Congratulations Steve, Samantha, and Elena  on your races! 

I had a good 30 mile bike on Sunday; 2.5 mile run on Sat and at least I'm no worse for the wear. Have tried compression for hip flexor, ice and currently laser therapy 2 x a week. It's slow going. But at least I can run a little and bike/swim as much as I feel like.

Have a great start to the week everyone!

Congrats to everyone on some great races this weekend, including some podium finishes! Excellent job.

I've been busy with my final training push and have been enjoying it.  Went on a great run this AM. Just went out w/ no planned route & left the watch at home. I just wanted to run, and it was fantastic.  ended up running 6.75 miles in a sliver over an hour. One of my most enjoyable runs in ages. Best part was finishing just before the pouring rain started .

Samantha, thanks for the kind words.  I bet you have lots of friends!!!

Elena, great job on the sprint.  6 minutes improvement in a sprint is huge.

I ran for an hour this morning, and finished 5.625 miles.  After work it's too the pool with the swim coach.  She is moving me from 2200 yard workouts to 2800.  Yippee!!

Wow, Elena, you had an awesome race!  Great race report too .  Funny you were beating yourself up over the swim, and that was where you saw the most improvement.  I know what you mean re: the open water swims though...so hard to find a rythm when you are trying to look around, not get kicked, etc.  Anyway, great progress on all fronts! 

Yay, a feel good run for you!  Those are the ones that keep us hooked.  I love feeling changes in the weather.  One of those things the rest of the world that doesn't venture outside much misses.

Hey Beth, nice workouts!  Am I remembering correctly that biking is your first love?  Glad you held up on the run, know it's been a long road to recovery for you.

Nice run in the new shoosies!

Nice run!!  Glad you are benefitting from your swim coach.  Have fun with the 2,800 yards!

Sorry for your continuing foot pain.  There will be more races, but you only have two feet, so smart recovery is where it's at.

Great perspective, Samantha.  You're really in the groove .

Good job getting it done! 

I have yet to run at a track.  I'm sure it would do me some good, but the thought of running around in circles...blech!

A word of caution about shifting from heal strike to mid foot strike... it usualy takes a year or two and you usualy have to start at realllly low mileage and work up, like 1 mile runs.  You need to really watch those calf and achilies issues and do a lot of stretching.  Basically you are stretching the back of your leg an extra half inch or so with semi abrupt inpact 2300 times per mile.  I certainly wouldn't be brave enough to do it during tri season knowing that it could take me out of all my races.  Offseason... is probably the best time for playing with stuff like that.  Part of it depends on how much of a heal stiker you are and how much of a conversion it will be and how flexible you are to start with. 

I have a loop behind my house that is kind of like a track, but it is 1.3 miles per lap and has a couple of hills in it.  My run is finally getting to feel back up to snuff after taking a couple of months off this winter for injury recovery.  I am stoked about the past 3 or 4 runs at a 7:30 ish mpm pace and doing a 13 mile run on Sunday on an 8:30 pace not dropping off pace more than 20 seconds in that 3rd quarter of the run (my hardest part of most runs long run).  Looking at my logs it looks like it took me 550 miles to get here again in 2012. 

Just as a heads up, folks will be moving from, "WOW I am improving my distance and speed and everything so much it is amazing" stage to the "I am so tired, I have no desire to workout, life sucks, I will never be ready for my race," stage towards the end of this month.  Take naps, eat a little extra of healthy food, take a day off if you need to, but not your long workout day in any of the events.  Feel free to whine and such here, we have at least 6 people who will be there within the next 4 to 6 weeks.  Enjoy the spring weather, remember that you will start to need more water with you on longer runs and bike rides and take enough calories with you during your longer workouts.