Asphalt Junkies CLOSED AND GETTING OUR FIX (Page 20)

Funny, I seemed to have better results with an ART guy than with physical therapists!  With the physical therapy I didn't feel like they were getting to the root cause, and even with my first appointment with my ART doctor (his first specialty is as a chiropractor), I could tell the approach was different (like, searching for root cause), and I liked it.  He got me to a point where I could start running again.  (This is in reference to the injury I had at the end of the 2010 season involving my hip adductors or some such.)  I still (try to) see him regularly now just to make sure it doesn't get bad again... although we aren't for certain what did actually cause it.  

Conclusion: I have also had good experiences with ART, and it might be worth looking into to see if it's something you want to try out.

Jo that is a great looking bike, good luck with it and enojy riding it. I hope it serves you well especially for the Ironman.

Took advantage of a another beautiful day here in NY. I got in a slow 9 mile run and I put the emphasis on slow because I'm not fast to begin with but I am really trying to be more disciplined with my running. This was the last day of my self imposed triathlon bootcamp which I have been at for the last 5 months. The real work begins tomorrow as day 1 of the 24 week HIM training starts and to be honest I am looking forward to it. Hope everyone else got their work in and had a great weekend.

race report completed: carmel sprint tri today:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=435332

(must be a better way to place race report in this thread?)

THANK YOU!!! Dirk and company - because everyone has made contributing advice this winter. The training has helped a lot-

I bettered last year's time by +- 4 min. conditions were not great for the bike, as wind 20+ with gusts almost 30 (I know 2 people who literally got blown off their bikes  and paid a scraped-up price) Looking forward to my upcoming half marathons - and then tri's in June/July/Aug.

good start.

I am wondering if this may have come from the intensity you were running at for a long time.  I know your weren't running crazy fast training times but by your own admission you were running much faster than you have been for a little while.  That can be the nature of overuse injuries.  they kind of build slowly until one day they become a real problem.  Also the situation may have started with the new running shoes and altered your gait enough to allow for imperceptibly different changes that are just now showing up.

I think you should give ART a shot but proceed with caution.  I also think that you should take at least one week away from running completely.  I also think Jeff may have some good advice too.

I'm no gym rat, but I did some lifting early in life and spent a few years doing some lifting later on.  The gym rats may have better advice, but here's mine.

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to gain weight?  12-13% BF seems ideal.

For me, the big lifts are the ticket to weight gain.  By bug life I mean the Olympic lifts like squats, deadlifts, cleans.  I'm opposite of you in that just looking at a bar to do squats makes me gain weight, as long as Io eat excess calories.  Jeff will go inot it more, but you need carbs as well as protein, since protein is synthesized in the presence of carbs.   but there has to be a calorie excess to gain weight.

Glad everyone is training hard and having good w/o's.  Love the pics of the new bikes but of course I start drooling too!

hey thanks for all the advice on running.  I've started running slow and actually enjoying it.  I have been running to where I was barely catching my breath the whole way and it was hurting and not so much fun.  Since I've started slowing down, the runs are MUCH more enjoyable, thus I get out there more.

My wife is not a member of this group, but she just PR'd her 1/2 marathon and won her AG.

While ya'll's races are just starting, ours is ending...about 1 more month and it is over for us until the fall but that will give me an excuse to get excessive swim time in!!!

Ya'll keep er gassed!

Paul way to go on your first race of the season. Looks like all your hard work over the winter is paying off epsecially with the 4 min improvement in those conditions.

Wow - so much to respond to. I have to be more attentive over the weekend!

Paul - Great race man, a PB by 4 mins in a super-sprint with such nasty wind is quite an achievement!

Dirk - AWESOME bike. I'm very jealous!

Jo - Also AWESOME bike, I'm also very jealous.

Matt - I can't remember, but yours is also an AWESOME bike! 23 mph? Really dude? How are we supposed to keep up with that pace?!

Karl - Congrats to your wife on her PR. Swimming definitely seems to improve with frequency and summer in FL seems like you'd want to spend as much time in the pool as possible!

Allison - I had a mild IT band tweak a couple of weeks ago, and from what I read it can be caused by incorrect saddle placement on your bike, causing twisting of the knee or excessive bending - it sounds like this isn't your issue, but it may be something to check. After adjusting the saddle a little I did 30+ miles yesterday with no pain at all, having had some sort of soreness after every ride for the last month or so. I really hope it gets better soon!

John

I would say that is a GREAT start!  Nice work.  The wind can be a real bugger, especially for the light weight triathletes.  That's ONE thing that being big helps me out with!  Well, that and going down hill.

Allison, ITBS is the likely problem.  The thing about ITBS, in my experience and that of others I've known, is that it doesn't heal quickly. 

A friend of mine just got over his.  I was surprised, but he couldn't even kick in the pool.  Had to swim exclusively with a pull buoy for a couple of months.

I think you just need to retool your training routine for at least 4 weeks.  After a few days of rest, try to insert a 2-5 minute test jog very slowly.  NO MORE, even if it feels good.  Based on how it feels you can continue doing a couple of minutes each day.

So in the meantime load up on extra swimming and cycling and save about 20 minutes per day for treatment of your ITB.

Google something like "ITBS rehab"

Jo, your Trek looks beautiful!  Congratulations on that.  And a 20 mile training run!?!?!?  Awesome!  I agree with Dirk's advice about modifying your plan's taper.  Keep your regularly scheduled tri training all the way up to 2 days prior to the race.  And do that easy 2 mile the day before.  Those couple of things will make a big difference in how you feel race morning.

Dirk, same to you bud!  You will really fly now.  I noticed that last season our USAT ranking scores were very close.  I propose that this year we have a throw down.  We will compete via our USAT ranking, OK?  With your new bike I think you have an edge.

Matt, when people say: "it's not the bike" they mean that there's no real difference between a $2k and a $10k bike.  But from a walmart special to a real bike is quite a difference.  Glad to hear about your first ride on it.  Now I want to see some photos of your position on the bike.

I see John turned in a great 5 miler.  negative splits, PR...

Paul improved year over year by around 4 minutes...

This group is really going crazy.  It's awesome to see.

The bold above is actually what I think did me in ultimately... I had banged my left foot into a chair really hard, and (eventually) ended up taking some time off, as I could not walk normally without it hurting, let alone run... and then I discovered a way (on my toes of the injured foot) in which I could walk/run without feeling any pain, so I started running again... and I was running up to 25-35 miles a week with this altered gait... blew up a couple months later...  still dealing with the consequences today (if in fact this is what happened)... uh yeah, I should have known better...

Nice race, John!  I love negative splits!

Huh??  What does a bug's life have to do with squats and deads?

As a former power lifter I can chime in about the weight gain.  Although I never intended to gain weight, nor did I gain much while into the power scene, I did gain A LOT of muscle mass and leaned up to a very solid, cut weight. 

Certain lifts will give you more bang for your buck for sure but really the principle of lifting heavy is what you would be striving for.  Heavy weight and low reps will gain you a lot of muscle mass and lean up your mass.  Particular exercises to do would be heavy bench work including flat, incline and decline benches and squats.....heavy squats.  And with your back problems squats should not be done at all in my opinion.  Squats if not done very strictly WILL cause an injury over time, even if you aren't lifting massive loads.

I need to head for my bike fit right now so I'll get a little more specific later on this evening.

Congrats on the 20 miler!  That is a major accomplishment!

I really like the color scheme on your new bike!  It's so girly!  A fast girly! 

I'd say this is a good start to the season!  Fantastic!

I managed to do 10.5 miles of my 12 mile run yesterday.  My heart rate went up into the 160's and just would not come down.  That was my sign to end the run.  No biggie, though.  I'm getting over a nasty cold and it's 4 more miles than I would have run this weekend had I raced.  This will only help my half mary training in the long run.

Today, I had a good swim session.  I worked on the drills that are most troublesome for me.  Then I swam 4X250 at a smoking pace!  Well, smoking for me.  I ran on the treadmill after swimming.  My heart rate is still being a little crazy but not as bad as yesterday.

I'm slowly returning to regularly scheduled workouts.

Allison, I'm just spitballing here, but Jeff mentioned that his friend wasn't able to kick in the pool, and one of the feedbacks you got to your swim video was that you had a very aggressive kick.  I know that when I've been injured, it can be very difficult to pinpoint which of the numerous activities is aggravating the problem.  It may be worth an experiment to swim with a pull buoy, so you eliminate the kick, and see if your knee feels any different when you run.

Had a good long run today.  77 degrees, winds at 20-30 with gusts of 50mph.  That made it interesting, but I felt good the whole time.  I'm pretty sure I lose more from the headwind than I gain from the tailwind.

On a semi-related note, I gave my dog more slack on his running leash, and he never pulled me once.  Just thought I'd share this counter-intuitive piece of information for the others who run with canine company.

Paul, good job.  I'd say that a 4 minute improvement is something to be proud of, especially in adverse weather conditions.  Definitely a good start.

David