Fred D Mentor Group - Part II (Page 21)

In your profile page on ST you can set up all your fit coordinates for tri and road bike. I suggest people measure and put them in there. It is very convenient.

I've walked into a bike rental shop and picked up a bike they could look up my fit on line.

Hey Tom - glad you are on the mend, but don't be afraid to baby the knee a bit. With Cedar Point only a month away getting healed up has to be priority one. I was in a similar boat this summer before my IM (no running at all for 7 weeks) and these are the things that worked well for me: 1) Incorporating more hard lactate threshold swimming. 2) I got one of those aqua jogging belts and did a fair amount in the lake, usually after a long swim or bike. These included forward, backward, and lateral "running." 3) Walks substituted for each run. The walks were of whatever time the runs would have taken, up to 2.5 hours. Actually kinda fun to go exploring. It is really dumb, but it helped me to log my walks as runs - psychologically it was good to still see weekly miles accrue. If the knee can handle it, keeping time on your feet is key right now. About 2.5 weeks before IM I was finally able to run 20 minutes per day. I would walk 20 minutes, run 20, then walk 15~20. Done everyday that will get you 35~40 miles per week! I could have run longer of course, but neither my coach nor doc saw the usefulness at that point and both felt it was better just to keep healing up and getting the frequency up. While I did take it VERY easy on my marathon, I did feel good and was able to run every step of the way.

Take all that for what you will, but the short of it is that if it does not exacerbate the knee injury, stay on your feet as much as you can, work your hips, and do some other workouts designed to keep the aerobic engine revving - you will be great in a month!

That is a great tip Marc! Thanks - I am going to do that today.

Based on my natural running mechanics, my doc also suggested I try out Newtons as I ease back in to running. I found this kinda interesting, because he is actually reasonably well known for talking folks out of them. My legs are still pretty beat up from my ride earlier this week, but in a couple of days I will go to the local running store and give them a whirl. Until then I am just spending as much time in my magic squeezy pants - I know Melissa understands...

Oh. And I switched my Olympic entry this weekend to the aquabike category, but depending on how the legs are feeling I may just go and cheerlead.

Racing an Olympic on the weekend, and just trying to figure out the last couple of days training wise and looking for suggestions.  Current thought is to swim today and tomorrow, trainer ride tonight with 5min intervals alternating between 85-100%, 10-12K run tomorrow.  Saturday - quick splash in the wetsuit, 20min shakedown ride in full gear, and 10min run off the bike.

Thoughts?

Rusty, that sounds like an excellent plan.  I think it's a really good sign that your doc suggested something to you that he doesn't suggest to others - it's a sign that he doesn't believe in that 'one thing' that will work for everyone and takes the time to understand each person's needs!

As for me.  Slept in again this morning. Not sure I'll do anything today as my work team is having a bbq after work. I would like to get on my bike for a little bit - but we'll see. My DH was going to do a thorough cleaning and tune up for me.  I am starting to get really nervous. I am excited to but I am nervous and I am not sure why. I know I can get through it - I know it will all be fine. 

The best news from my end though (not tri-related) is that my mom finished chemotherapy on Tuesday.  Time for her to get back to being herself and building back up her strength.  It's really a relief that we got through everything and this chapter is closing.  I'll definitely be dedicating my race to her.  Well, her and my uncle Chris who has Parkinsons.

That's great news about your mom!!

I think the idea of loops so you can cut it short if anything flares up is a good idea.  I've been in that situation a few times this summer.  I usually plan out a route that takes me back to the start several times but doesn't actually repeat anything.  So for the 10, I would do a 4 mile loop that ends up back at the start, then a different 3 mile loop and then another 3 mile loop.  This is mostly for my sanity to change up the scenery and so I don't feel like a hampster.    It is also dependant on having lots of options for where to run.

I won't be doing a 2-3 hour ride this weekend but I'm just blindly following my plan - you have a lot more long distance experience and would know what works best for you.  From here on, my plan seems to have mostly shorter workouts but with some higher intensities - 90 second intervals at 10k pace or zone 4 on the bike etc with a decent rest interval.  This follows what we used to do as swimmers, high intensity race pace swims with a ton of rest.

Sweet! Well I like Mr. Greenfield ... a whole hell of a lot ... wait, you e-mailed him and didn't pass on big kisses and {MELON PRESSES} from me? What kind of a mentor are you?

That must be a load off, 11 days out. Glad you got it dialed in.

On my 3rd day of under the weather. Fever since yesterday, not upright 'til 10pm today and "upright" means lying on the couch watching Olympics and BTing.

Same here - I can take or leave the swim, but that little bike and run the day before seem to be key for me on races of any distance. Easy, easy pace - with maybe a short pickup on the bike, and a couple of strides on the run. What is your warm-up routine on race day?

oof - Yanti, I did not know you had a bug - hope you get well soon! Well, at least you have the olympics. Whenever I get sick it always seems like the only thing on is a "Charles in Charge" weekend marathon...

Nutrition is highly personalized  of course - but that seems like a lot of calories on the bike. If that is what has been working on your long bricks then stick with it for sure though. To minimize GI issues on the run I have found that sticking to water only for hydration and gels for calories to do the trick for me - no sports drink at all.

re: your weekend plans: I drive a lot, and found driving to really exacerbate the tightness in my right knee quite a bit this summer. Use the cruise control as much as possible, and try to get a 30 minute walk or even a 15 minute run in on Friday after you get in if possible. For saturday, I think Arend's idea to run various out and backs is a good one just in case you do have to cut it short. Heck, if I was really worried about it I might just skip the run altogether and enjoy the day with the family - I mean it wasn't too long ago that you did not even think you would be doing the race, right? Getting there as healthy as possible should you be your goal at this point. You know that one more ten miler is not going to make the race for you, but on the other hand if your calf is sketchy at all it could break it. Be conservative.

Great news Jen. 

As for your race - this has been building for a long time, and you've put a significant part of your life into preparing for this.  I think you're nerves are completely normal at this point, as they would be with any other big life event.

Thanks guys.  Two weeks ago I did a 15-20min warmup on the bike just to get the muscles moving and try to remove any tightness and that worked out well.  Swam for roughly 5min before race start.  As for the run, i didn't feel I needed anything after being on the bike.

Plan is to try and do the same this race.

I won't comment on the calories piece, but will add to Rusty's comment about water for hydration.  Most of my failed races have been the result of suffering with side stitches during the run (but they start on the bike).  I moved to the idea of just water this year to see what the impact would be, and have had success with it.  For long rides I've been using gels in a flask and waffles for the calories, but have also carried one bottle of gatorade for occasional sips just to break the monotony of water for a 3-4hr ride.  I usually have 1/2 a bottle left by the time I'm done.