stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL (Page 221)

LISA -

Ahhhh, you neglected to mention you were 13/145 of all females. That's, like, top 8 or 9 percent? You've reached the promised land! Nirvana! Valhalla!

Really and truly, those results are superb, with the one really standing out being the run. 8th OA, if I remember, and you outran Ryan, too. As for work not going all that well yesterday, well, i guss you earned the right to be in such a state!

What is thre rim depth of the wheels? I will look them up just for my own edification, as I'm unfamiliar with Easton. I do know they have been making serious inroads (into Zipp and Hed) and have a great reputation, but as to specifics......I know nothing.

I am sorely tempted to get an aero helmet, as everything I read says that as long as someone has decent position on their bike, they make a significant difference -- more so than wheels, and at much less cost. The one or two I have tried on have not felt half as comfortable as my regular helmet, however, and that has stopped me right there. I guess I ought to do more shopping around. Whicj make/model is yours?

If you do Tripe-T with another woman, what will Ryan do. Head Sherpa? Massagemeister? Or just a stay-at-home with Belle? I think that just about everybody at Triple-T bounds significantly, but no moe so than the teams. And it works really well for teams in which the two members are quite close in abilities. Another thing I think I know about the Ohio one is that the primo accoms fill really early, so if you are even thinking about it you might want to book maybe in June, just to have it in place.

Tour de Skyline! Lucky girl! One of the people from the other group is down in Florida doing a two-week (maybe 10-day) tour, but that one doesn't have the allure of Skyline. It also doesn't have 110 miles each day.....but that's the allure of Skyline, right? (Well, then there's also the beauty of it too, huh?)

I am only kind of partly sorry that you had some difficulty with "30" being inked on your person at Rumpus. This is the year I get "61" ---- so I guess it's all relative!

I was of the generation that came up with "Don't trust anyone over 30", so when I did that turn myself it gave me some pause. I think I started having some difficulty with the concept when I got to about 28.5, but within a few days of turning I was mostly fine. For me, turning 40 and 50 were nothing. Hope it's the same for you. But turning 60 last year was a bit harder. I'm not sure when I began my wind-up for feeling agitated about that - maybe when I was about 56! And, it still soberizes me some to ralize that I am Of That Age, but as Lynn's brother said to her two nights ago, turning 60 is better than the option!

What's next on my agenda? More wafffling, of course!

Plans are still up in the air about Lynn's mom and what to do about her, but Lynn's other brother, who lives in S.C., wants to avoid the big bug time up here of late May, so he and his wife are looking at sometime in the first two weeks of May, which of course would leave Columbia open. Plans are still fluid, so I'll kepp you posted!

And speaking of fluid, which makes me think of fluid trainers, are you and Ryan still intersted in the CompuTrainer? Should we talk more about that? One thing i could do is bring it down woth me to Columbia and just leave it all with you to mess around with and see if you like it. (Given that I didn't use it at all this past winter, it's not likley I'll be using it from late May onwards!) Anyhow, let me know if that sounds workable to you.

Apropos of this, I went back into my logs to find info on my previous neuroma (and its removal) a fw years ago, and I kept coming across these references to courses I rode on the CT. On a couple of occasions I rode Memphis in May.....and I don't rememeber doing it, but there it was in my log! There were several other courses like that - in the log, but don't remember them. Hmmmm. Either my memory is shot, or I was fudging data in my log. Just kidding! I would never do that! Honest!

May your work day today be better than yesterday!

MINDY -

Hey! Congrats to Janie on the softball tournament! That is such a huge event for kids, to romp their way through a tournament. And isn't it classic -- falling asleep in the car almost immediately!

Our Jane, over the years, played hundreds and hundreds of hockey and soccer and lacrosse games, and I would say that overall her various team's win percentage was maybe .420. Her teams won a few tournaments here and there over the years, but that was a rare occurrence. Right from the beginning she just happened to land on temas that mostly were mediocre, so she got very good at accepting defeat! I guess there are lots of good life lessons in that, so that's something anyhow.

There were some sticking points, though. In five years of high scholl hockey, her school never beat its arch-rival. In four years of university hockey, her team never beat the two premier teams in their conference. (That's more forgiveable, though, as they weren't the premier teams for nothing.) But the arch-rival thing? I think that still sticks in her craw!!

Do the du! Do the du! Duathlon is fun, and very low-stress just due to not having to hassle with the swim. Do the du!

(How is Ivan doing these days??)

Hi guys!

It's early, but I realized after I heard my alarm that I'm going to save the workout for after work, so I'm killing time before showering

Lisa - CONGRATS! Those times are phenomenal. How cold was the water? Probably brrr....

As for me, things have been humming right along. I'm getting back into the swing of things after vacation Had a pretty good workout week last week - right around 8 hours, which is where I think I should be. I want to do the same this week.

I have not one, but TWO races scheduled for this weekend I have the Clinton 15k scheduled for Saturday, which should be fun. I ran a good 7 miles yesterday, so I am sure that 9 will be fine.

Then, I told a friend that I would run this race with her on Sunday: http://lincolntunnelchallenge.sonj.org/ This friend is my closest law clerk friend - we share an office. She's been on a health kick lately, trying to lose some weight. She's been doing fantastic with changing her eating habits, and now wants to start exercising. I'm not always the best example with my eating habits, but I can set a good example with exercise! Anyway, she heard of this race and thought it would be fun. I had also heard of this race, and I've been wanting to do it since high school. Essentially, they shut down a tube of the Lincoln Tunnel so you can run through it! They pump in clean air, etc. I signed up for the slower race (over 25 minutes) so I could do it with her. I've also recruited my dad and Mark - hopefully they sign up. Should be something different!

Anyway, time to go. Have a good day everyone!

Hey guys.  I am still here and hope to get posting more soon.  I suffered another flare up recently in the neck and back causing about 48hrs of bedrest.  I am back to running now but I haven't gone over 5 miles.  Hoping to get a longer one in this weekend.  Not sure if I got the flare up from the sudden bike volume or if it was from my low speed lame crash.  But something got jarred and I have had some ill effects.  Did 3 days or physical therapy on it though, so that was good.

Also, been packing...which sucks because I can't lift anything heavy...so just putting the light stuff in boxes.

flying to Chicago next week to meet the new owners of the company (and to get my NEW job offer). 

Moving to the new house May 3rd as well.  So lots going on!

I had to come on and post tonight though...as I was flipping through the latest Tri mag I saw an HM for Steve Bradley!!!  Congrats on that one.  Huge accomplishment.  Is this your first?  Amazing...I hope to some day get there, you are a huge inspiration towards consistency and lifelong fitness.





Edited by sax 2010-04-20 10:33 PM

JESS -

Exactly WHICH vacation was that? Costa Rica? Honduras? Netherlands? Aruba? The Lesser Antilles? The Greater Guacamoles??


That Lincoln Challenge Tunnel run sounds fun -- but thank god for the pumping in of good air! I've swam twice in the Hudson as part of the NYC Tri, but of course have never ventured through the Lincoln. I'll be very interested in how it strikes you!

And that's a great idea for a recovery run after the Clinton 15k, to just take the with-a-friend approach. I'm envious of you about the Lincoln (slightly less so about Clinton 15k )!

Reading yours again -- "essentially shut down a tube". "Essentially"? Gulp??

NEIL -

Argh. Sorry about the back/neck problems! My money is on the slow-speed crash as the more likely causative. While my high-speed one last June was no picnic, it was not near as bad as the ultra-slow-speed one suffered by mav, who posts regularly on BT. I can't remember the extent of her injuires, but they involved a broken jaw that required wiring and maybe a broken wrist. Hers was just coasting along slowly and actually coming to a stop -- and then hitting a median curbing and going over the top. And beyond that, we both know how seemingly innocuous movements can result in big back and neck problems. It's good that physio seems to be working, and maybe now you've rounded some corner on the road to recovery.

Exciting times for you coming bang-bang, huh? That's a tough call as to which is most exciting -- the job offer or the move. Sounds like two sides of a Happy Coin!

Which tri magazine? Triathlete? It's good to ave it in print, if that's the case! You know, I keep checking every few days just to see if there have been any cataclysmic changes in the rankings. Last I saw I was 53/577, so I had some wiggle-room. Plus, I had been in that relative position since about mid-February, so I was feeling ever-optimistic.

This is the first, after several near-misses. The worst one was in '04, where I missed by something like 0.1763 of a point. What's that -- taking an extra four seconds to remove my wetsuit in one race? But over the years I've been my own worst enemy just via my choices of races -- either too many too close together, or sticking in meanignless Canadian races just for the heck of it. This past season I erred slightly with the former, and limited my "losses" with the latter; in fact, the CDN ones I did had no imapct on my next USAT performance.

I love playing the game, but if it played it even more seriously I would "stack" my races to be maybe six sprints and two half-irons. Those are the distances at which I consistently score the highest, altough the past couple of seasons my USAT scores for olys have improved. I was especially pleased that my three "ranking" races this past season were one of each -- sprint, oly, half-iron. I'd like to think that I'm fairly decent at all three of those distances. But if I could ever succeed in reining myself in and choosing races wisely, per the abbove, I think I could make a run at straight All-American.

Anyhow, many thanks for the kind words; much appreciated!

USA Triathlon Life
Spring 2010 Vol 13 Issue 2
page 130

HM rank 52 with 77.10338 points (2 points away from All American)  I think its kind of ironic that you are 2 points away from AA considering you are a ca-nook!

LISA -

DEAL!

(But that's in my wildest dreams......in the most active of my fantasy lives.....when my deepest primal urges are fully met......)


And, no, we need no pictures -- those just spoil that certain je ne sais quoi about me!

NEIL -

I amy or may not ever recieve that. I've been a USAT peep since about 1739, but they seem to have trouble sending stuff to me up here. And remember, I am an Amurikin, born and bred in Beantown!

Those two points can require a huge amount of climbing; the incremental crawl is how it usually preoceeds. But if I plan my races carefully and don't approach it like a kid in a candy shop, I think it's attainable. But in the glasshalfemptyglasshalffull conundrum....I'm closer to falling off the bottom than I am being one of the pure AAers!

Steve, would you like my copy?  Message me your address and I will send it out to you this week.

NEIL -

Thank you very much for that offer! I will wait a few days and see what the powers-that-be come up with. Maybe they'll do the right thing this time, this issue!

Back and neck continuing to improve?

So, I'm about to jump in the shower and head out to the Mets game, but I just wanted to report that I had two fabulous races this weekend

Yesterday's 15k was great! I'll post splits later, but I finished in 1:18:31 (8:24 average pace) - good for third place in the age group. Ok, I didn't realize until later that there were only 5 people in the age group, but I was almost 12 minutes ahead of the next girl! And it felt nice because both of the other ladies I knew from high school It was a CHALLENGING course, with more hill than I expected for the last two miles. Definitely a challenge, but it was fun.

Today's 5k was also fun! I was supposed to run it with a friend - she's just started working out and wanted to try a race. Unfortunately, she backed out last night, which really frustrated me. I already raced for the weekend - I was just doing this for her! Plus, I had signed up for the second race - supposed to be finishing in over 25 minutes, just because I knew I'd be running with her. So I had to stay in the second race and battle the masses of walkers at the start. And it was pouring. But it was totally a cool experience My watch has me finishing in 24:11, final results aren't up yet. I'm really pleased with that because I raced yesterday, and I'm still pretty sore. Also, it was a deceptively hilly course - since you had to run under the river and back, haha. Being in the over-25 minute race wasn't that bad at all after the start - I was in the first group of finishers. If I had been in the first race I'm sure it would've been crowded the whole time.

JESS -

Fabulous performances! You held a great pace for the 15km, and managing to finish a whopping 12 minutes ahead of the one behind you is pretty decisive. Oustanding!

Yup, what goes down under a fairly major river must come up! To bang out a 24:11 on a walker-strewn course the day after a demanding 15km is very impressive.......and well deserves a celebration by way of going to a Mets game. Good plan!

Did they end up winning that one? I watched part of it last night, and was surprised at how many empty seats there were. I know it's Monday night and all, but i thought that fans were still flocking there. I guess maybe the allure of the new stadium has worn off -- that and the fact that they haven't started off so well this season. Tell me, though -- when you are sitting there, does it seem like a cavernous place, a pitcher's park? When I saw pictures of it at the start of last season, I thought it looked kind of cozy, a plce that would likely favor hitters. So, I was surprised when the reports started coming in that the Mets' power hitters were quite frustrated with it.

Um, sorry about the Devils. Their exit was quite abrupt, and really very unceremonious. The Bruins are up 3-2 to Buffalo, playing at home tonight. I'm already giddy with excitement........but quite nervous, too. Gulp.

ANYHOW, congratulations of running so weel this past weekend. Does this set you up for Bass this weekend, or have you decided to save it all for Devil the following weekend? I am still eyeing Devil, but haven't made any moves in any direction yet. Time's running out!

LISA -

If that sort of thing ever happened to Luna, we too would cancel any other plans. No second thoughts at all, whatsoever!

We went to Spain for 17 days in Nov. '08, boarding Luna at the same place she's boarded since she was a pup. When we returned, we learned that Luna had grown incredibly homesick - whining, moping, not eating. It was really very dranatic, we were told --- and we were also told that she is at the age at which dogs respond poorly to being boarded for anything more than a couple of days. (At the time she was 11.5) So, this past December when we went to S.C. for about 8 or 9 days, la hunda came with us! We were worried about how well she would handle such a long trip, but she did really well --- and loved romping on the beach after a big storm passed through, leaving high winds and huge surf.

Anyhow, all of that is just to say good decision on doing the Tour de Belle instead!

No final decision yet on the Columbia weekend, as it rests on the when one of the sibs can make it up here. (For me, that still might be a Tour de Ma-in-Law!) This is also affecting my thoughts on going down to Devilman, as that is the other option for the visit! Grrr!

Skipping topics here, how are you doing with your carbohydrates?? I just recently picked up MattFitzgerald's "Racing Weight", and while I have hardly begun it, one of the charts caught my attention. It's called Recommended Daily Carbohydrate Intake for Athletes, and if this formats the way I want it to....

Weekly Training Hours ----------------Carb Intake (g/kg of body weight) (1kilogram is equal to 2.2 pounds)
<4....................................................................5-6
5-6....................................................................6-7
7-10..................................................................7-8
11-14.................................................................8-9
15-19.................................................................9-10
20-24................................................................10-11
>25..................................................................11-12

So last week I did 12:41 of training, and my math tells me I should be at about 620g of carbs a day. Did I manage that? I don't think so! To follow this, of course, requires some serious carb-counting, and I've never done that and probably couldn't stay organized long enough to make it work. But at least it further supports the argument for carbohydrates, so.........

And I wonder, too, where, something like lifting fits into that plan. My time spent on swim/bike/run/row was about 9:30 of the 12:41, with the rest being mostly lifting. Does lifting require less carbs than SBR(and row) -ing?

Whadaya think?

Rubs, scritches, hugs, and kisses to Belle from me, please!






Edited by stevebradley 2010-04-28 6:49 AM

LISA again -

Those neuroma tendencies from last week are still a real concern, but so far I am skating around them. I did a good, fast 6km run off the bike on Saturday, and then followed that on Sunday with a moderately intense 10.2km. I will run again today and see what I see. Neither of the runs on the weekend produced any of the sharp, shooting pains into my toes that accompanied my neuromas a few years ago, but I might still be at the early stages. ( )

The Newtons definitely help, serving to separate the metatarsals so that don't squeeze against the nerve bundles. The funnt thing with newtons, however, is that I can feel some twinges in the left foot when I walk, but that disappears when I run. It's beeen like this since my first days with newtons in Nov. '07 -- the help me run neuroma-free, but neuroma hints surface when I walk in them. Go figure! if nothing else, i guess that shows the degree of differnece in out foot mechanics between running and walking.

Maybe if I want to be seemingly neuroma-free, I need to become an equivalent of an albatross, which spends its adult life never landing on land. For me, though, it would be perpetual running --- never stopping long enough for the neuroma to get activated and twitchy!

(Lynn would find it difficult to corral me so as to do the vacuuming. Imagine that!)

Hey guys.  I am still around.  Just been a bit sick the last week or so.

The trip to Chicago went well.  We met our new owners of the company and got the gameplan...which isn't much different than it was.  Got a nice little surprise with compensation, basically its more...so thats cool!  So so far so good.

Regarding my health, well...I guess those pains in neck and back were a cue to something else.  I eventually became ill with flu like symptoms.  Getting over them now but decided to go for the full rest vs. just running easy.  Figured the full rest was better option.  I doubt I will do anything through next week, as we are still packing up boxes here and will be moving everything on Monday.

The time off is good I suppose, considering I am coming up on a big block of training in prep for a 70.3 at some point this summer.