BB's Really Beginner Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 26)

I declared my ankle healed as from last night, and did elliptical for 2 miles.  It felt just fine.  I thought of increasing things gradually, but it seems that the head coach has different plans for me.  :-S  After an interview, he was with me during my swimming training tonight.  First time he sees me swim.  He said I was better than he had expected and asked me to swim doing long strokes trying to keep the number as low as pos.  I did a minimum of 22 and maximum of 25 but most times it was 23 strokes in a 25m long pool.  I only managed 100m non stop and he let me have breathers every 50m.  I did 1000m in total.  If I thought the swimming coach was strict… well, the head coach is a tyrant!!  But he is nice as well.

200 warm up
200 kick
100 free style
200 long strokes breathing every 4 strokes
200 loong strokes breathing every 3 strokes
100 to loosen up (is that how you say it in English?)

My bike is not here yet but the coach is lending me one so that I can join the team on the road tomorrow.  I’m sooooo scared!!!!  LOL  I don’t have experience, I’m not fit enough and it will be an uphill route. Besides, 90% of the team are men (I haven't seen a single woman yet) and there are no newbies around, just me!  OMG!  I’m panicking already.

Have a great Wednesday! 

(Now that I think of it… I don’t own a helmet yet… LOL)

Hi everybody!

The bike ride was wonderful!!  The head coach has been terrific.  He had already ridden this morning, but he joined the 4:30pm group because it was my first day. Actually, not only my first day riding with the team, but the first time I rode a road bike in my not so short life.   There were 12 of us, this is the smallest group of the week.  We put the bikes on a trailer and rode on a van to the highway to Mexico City. Once there, we rode uphill.  I wasn’t wearing the appropriate equipment and the bike they lent me was too big, but I managed 8 Km of a total of 20.  They said newbies usually do 5K max on that road.  I’m glad they didn’t tell me that before the ride.  

We started in the outskirts of warm Cuernavaca which I believe is 1,600m above sea level and finished at 2,600m above sea level in a cool area surrounded by woods.  It took me 40 mins to do the 8 K with the head coach by the side all the time.  He gave me instructions and set the rithm I should ride.   When I couldn't go on, I requested to be picked up by the van.  At the end they all cheered me and gave me a dry fit top to celebrate my welcome to the team.  There were 2 other women there.  It’s a nice bunch of people… a little crazy I think.  But I guess you have to be a bit crazy to do tris.  LOL  Now I know the biking part will be hard, but I feel much more at ease about it.

I came back home, checked homework, got children organized and rushed back for an 800m swim. I’m tired but very happy.  I don’t think I will easily forget today.

I hope you all have a good night!  

PS  Thank you for your concern Dan, they lent me a helmet. 

So, here's a topic for today -- Food. We all like it, we all need it, and we all probably worry about it from time to time. How do you (assuming you do) manage what & how you eat while training or as just part of your tri/fitness life? Any particular things you like pre/post workouts  for energy or recovery? Other thoughts? I'll go first!

Since I started getting fit (last March) I've very consciously changed not only what I eat, but when & how much. People always ask me how long I've been on a diet, and I tell them I'm not on one. I don't think of it that way. I see it as more of a lifestyle change, and a healthier approach to eating. Even if I wasn’t into the tri thing, it would still be something I’d do as my old eating habits were crap-tastic.

Overall, I’m far more conscious about eating a balanced menu, ensuring I get veggies, protein, and fruit every day.  Also snack in a smarter way, putting aside the cookies/packaged food in favor of a fresh apple or nuts, etc. Do I not eat anything ‘bad’? Heck no – I can’t resist a good hot fudge sundae or a double cheeseburger at Five Guys, but I also know it can’t be a regular thing either. I’ve worked too hard to lose a bunch of weight and get in shape to give it up for something like that.

Thank you guys!  I consider myself very lucky to have found BT, to belong to this group and the Aspid triathlon team. 

 Jackie – Great wheels!! 

Curt  - I’m really looking forward to getting my bike and taking it for it’s exercise.  

Food… nice topic Mike!

I’ve always had more or less the same eating habits.  Ever since I was a child there were two options of food.  My mother favoured Mediterranean kind of food and my father Mexican, so one could chose.  I always chose my mother’s way.  It’s pretty much the same at home now.  

I eat a lot of vegetables and fruits and I avoid bread, pasta and rice.  I like lean grilled or boiled protein and dislike the flavour of fat and strong spices in general, which can be a problem if you live in Mexico.  My fat intake comes in the shape of nuts, olive oil, avocado, peanut butter and mayonnaise (light).  The problem is that I have a sweet tooth, and absolutely love chocolate, ice cream, biscuits (cookies) and cakes with a large glass of milk… mmmmmhh.    That is the area I’ve had to learn to control these days. 

I have 5 meals a day, balancing protein, carbohydrates and fat in each one of them.  I posted something about this a couple of weeks ago when I explained about “the zone”.  15 mins before training I have 1 block (7g of protein, 9 g of carbs and 2 g of fat)  and 3 blocks after I train.

I was trying to decide whether to use the elliptical at home or go out for a run, which I haven’t done since my injury.  I’ll go out… thinking of you, who are snowed under.  Paradoxically, I’ve been waiting for the sun to come down so that it’s not so hot.   

Enjoy your evening! 

Mike_D - 2011-02-11 6:56 AM Regarding food tracking, does anyone else find the utility on BT to be hard to use? I'm probably doing it wrong, but it seems every meal needs to be broken down to individual components/ingredients, etc. Takes me forever to get a simple breakfast logged, and I usually give up after a few days.

One thing I refuse to give up is my morning whole wheat or multi grain toast w/ real butter on it. Normally its just 1 or 2 pieces, and I love it.  At least its not processed white bread, right?

Today's workout was a 5 mile run in 44:04. Last night was a 35 minute trainer ride to try out the new saddle. Success on that front. Felt great, but I find trainer riding just boring. I need a TV. Right now I'm just using my iPod, and staring at a basement wall.

Mike

Mike, it can be tedious to log the meals and you're right, you do need to choose every ingredient. You can save meals that you eat regularly or create a recipe that may save you some time in the future. There are probably better apps out there, I just started using this one so I can keep everything in one place. One of the biggest problems with the BT app is there are many duplicate entries for the same food and not all are correct. I think whatever we use it will help us in reaching our goals!

There seem to be two lines of thought regarding what to eat before exercise.  One recommends an increase in carbohydrate intake, and the other a balance of protein, carbohydrates and fat.  What do you think about them?  Which one do you prefer? Has any of you done both?  Have you thought of trying them and compare?

It’s nice to have everything in one place, but regarding food logging, I also recommend this site.

http://caloriecount.about.com/foods

It’s a bit more user friendly