Andrew Haberkorn's Group - FULL (Page 21)

Hi Guys,

It's been a while... I've been recovering from an ankle-ish/ foot-ish injury for the past couple weeks.  It's put a real strain on my mental health (Grace can attest) but I can see the light at the end of tunnel.  I'd say it's at about 93% back to normal and I'm hoping to get out and do a few easy miles either tomorrow or Saturday.

I must confess that I ran a 10K on it last weekend (if you can call 11:31 min/miles running).  I was prepared to DNF if things went south but I made it through the entire race without any adverse effects.  The race was about 3 hours away in Hyannis.  My brother and I went down the night before and made a mini-weekend out of it.  He ran the half marathon (his first) and I did the 10K (my first).  The course conditions were pretty miserable but I enjoyed the whole race atmosphere and the bonding time with my little bro.  

Here's a link to my race report: http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=243262. You might not be able to tell from my report but I really had a good time on the Cape.  My time on the course wasn't much fun but it was an experience and I now have a PR that should be easy to improve on.  I like to set the bar kinda low so I look like a hero in future races.

I ordered my new road bike last Friday.  I don't have a solid ETA right now but I'm going to swing by the shop tomorrow after work and see what they say.  If you're keeping score, I'm getting a Specialized Roubaix Comp Rival.  When it comes in I'm going to get a BG fit done at the shop.  I'm super excited.

I've skimmed through the recent posts on our thread but I need to go back and read them all thoroughly.  It sounds like a lots going on.  

Drew - Good luck in your first race as a pro.

Dixbry - Congrats on kicking butt on your LT test.  What does that involve?  Do you need special equipment to do an LT test?

Question for the group:  Are there any precautions that I need to take when I start incorporating hills into my runs?  Most of the races around here have hills in them and I want be prepared but I'm worried about getting injured.  I've spent way too much time on Google over the past few months researching every little ache or pain that I feel and I keep seeing running hills listed as a possible cause of a lot of injuries.  Do you guys do extra stretches or anything like that?  Maybe I'm over-thinking this but I just want to be safe.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

That's all for now... Thanks guys.  Keep it up.

The only thing I'd suggest when running hills is to be properly warmed up before you hit them, which you probably know.  Give yourself about a 10 min or mile warm up run before you hit them.  I started doing hills more after I moved, mainly cause i'm surrounded by mountains and i have no choice. But i haven't felt any ill effects, just been getting stronger on them. You're stride will change somewhat...you should be leaning a bit more forward, landing on your midfoot or balls of your foot, and using your arms a bit more to propel you. Of course I tend to go a big slower up hill...down hill is actually a bit more painful on my body than up. It's obviously easier, but it's taken me some practice to not feel such a jarring impact with each stride. Now I more or less let gravity do the work, and go as fast as it wants me to. I try to avoid hell striking on the way down, as i find its easier to go fast by midfoot striking than going slow with heel striking.

Dixbry - congrats on the testing and time with the swim coach!  You are going to have an amazing season!

RookieIM - sounds like an amazing run you had.  I'm glad that my blog had a little to do with that, but it should also show you what you're capable of, blog post or not.  When everything is clicking, it's an amazing feeling.  Keep up the good work!

Loper245 - sorry to hear about the ankle.  Sounds like your doing the right thing by taking it easy for a few days.  Use it as a unplanned recovery! ha

Bendart - welcome back!  Good to hear you are getting back at it.  When you get the bike, it is mandatory that you post pictures.  Seriously - that's not a joke.

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.  I am sitting in my hotel room in Florida.  I finished my first race of the year today.  If you want to read the details, I posted a report on my site.  If you just want the short of it - PAINFUL! haha  It is incredible how hard/fast these draft-legal races are.  I had a great experience, and look forward to chipping away at the time gaps I saw today.  Lot's of work to do! 

Thanks.  For the test.  The bike shop had a trainer that they put your bike on.  There are also some other sensors on the bike that are hooked up to a computer and other electronics.  I  also wore a heart rate strap.  I was not allowed to do any exercise for a full 24 hours prior to the test.  The morning of, you can not take any gels or anything that would help you out in any way.  When I first got there, I out the HR strap on so that they could get my resting HR.  They also took a finger stick to test my Lactic acid in my blood prior to starting.  It has to be at a certain # to start.  I then got on the bike.  The special trainer automatically changes the load on the bike to keep it at a constant power no matter what gear you have it in.  They start out at 25 watts.  You cycle for three minutes, stop, and rest for one minute.  During the one minute they do a blood draw to test the lactic acid.  After the rest period. The watts go up another 25 and you repeat the 3 minutes on, one minute rest.  This cycle continues until you  can't go anymore.  Once you get to the Can't go anymore point, they test your levels.   You get off of the bike and they test your blood levels again at a 5 minute time and a 10 minute post cycle time.  When all is said and done.  They input all of your numbers in the computer and it tells you your training zones and such.  It is a very accurate way to find out where your heart rate should be at for the different zones.    My shop just started doing the test.  They actually are working on fine tuning the process.  Because of that, I did not have to pay for them to do it.  One of the benefits to having a good relationship with your local bike shop.