RFP GROUP 2013 - CLOSED (Page 26)

Gotta love Chicago.  My weather at top of blog says high of 45 today and tomorrow high of 16.  WTF?

I am in Louisville now, and it is in the 50s.  Great running weather imo.  Glad I am not back in the WI weather...

The Downtown YMCA in Lvl charges $20 for a day pass.  Tuesday I am going there both in the AM and PM just to get my $ worth...Swim in the AM, Bike in the PM...

Wow -Do you get a personal assistant to carry your gym towel and wipe the sweat from your face with that $20?

Thanks Tim, I was shooting for 1:25:00 but wanted to break 1:30:00, but I'm happy with the time, considering I struggled on the bike. I'm just not strong on the climbs, especially this course cause it has two nasty hills, one really steep climb which you pretty much turn straight into and then on the other side a long drawn out climb.

I was thinking of just adding one brick a week, cause I've only been doing one a month, mostly on the treadmill/trainer for convenience, but I need to do them on the road as it's just not the same. I am also going to do more training on the actual course. The next race is in 3 weeks and it's the club championships which means an extra 100m in the pool and an extra lap of both the bike and run for the long course. I'm eager to see how I'll go compared to last year, my time then was 1:50:00 and I'm hoping to break 1:40:00.

Tim - you've definitely peaked my interest with Trainer Road, after my next race I'm going to join up and get stuck into it over autumn and winter. The bike leg for Shep really has me worried, so I'll try anything to get some strength and speed in my jelly legs! Reading through the site and watching the videos, it looks like just the thing.

KTC - enjoy your day's off, even if you don't manage a workout, you've earned the rest.

AJ - beaches, sunshine and relaxation, yep that's Australia for you, you'd love it over here by the sounds.

Troy - yikes $20 for a day pass sounds expensive, I'm lucky where I am, I only pay $45 a month for gym and $38 a month for pool (different location) and that's for unlimited visits for both.

Hi Team.

Got back from my ski weekend with friends and family late last night. I hope everyone is well. I will catch up and read the posts from the weekend later today.

SIMONE - nice job on the race - very proud of you - WAY TO GO

Back to training for me today - bike and a lift later today.

Have a great week everyone.

KC

Good morning everyone! Glad to be home!

Simone - Great job on the race and the awards!

$20 for a day pass is CRAZY expensive!  I only pay $34 a month for a membership! When I travel I try to find a gym with a free trial membership for a few days or week. Most of the bigger joints will do it. I travel mostly to small towns though so I'm usually stuck with hotel equipment. What I've learned is that you can't judge a hotel "fitness center" by the pictures! In the past month I've been on 2 treadmills and they both broke. The most recent one had some oil or something on the belt making it so slippery you could have just about ice skated on it. The next time I tried to use the same treadmill the speed buttons didn't work and when I pushed the "instant speed" button it adjusted the incline! Then I went to get on the eliptical and it was about to fall apart! So alas...the recumbent bike.

My pool workout plan for last week failed miserably. My oldest son (4) decided he didn't want to take a nap during what was supposed to be my swim time. To keep #2 and #3 asleep and on schedule that meant he went with me to visit family instead. I was happy to have the time with my son of course but it would have been nice to be able to swim at least once in a long pool. Oh well.

Off to the Y at lunch for some short pool swim and probably a 3 mile temp run afterwards.  I have my first ever 10k this Saturday so I will probably take it a bit easy this week.

JEALOUS!!

I'm feeling a bit bummed out right about now.

I've developed a cyst where a lady should never have to develop a cyst and there is a strong possibility I'll need to get it surgically removed as I am 99.9% sure it is a Bartholin's cyst. It is painful as hell and I have to wait till Monday to see my GP, so it is going to be a VERY long weekend!

Just when training and racing was going so well too. Depending on what the GP says, it looks like I may miss my next race, regardless, I wont be able to train for a couple of weeks. I guess it's a good opportunity to rest the achilles again.

Hopefully I can still do some limited strength work.

I hope everyone else is having a better week than me!

Simone, that's a bummer!  I hope you get better news at your GP appointment on Monday.    Good for you, looking at the silver lining and taking the opportunity to rest your achilles!  Fingers crossed that it's only a minor setback in your training/racing this season!

Sorry to hear about your issue Simone but like Kristen said you have the right attitude.

I was flipping though Facebook and saw this picture of Craig Alexander and realized it was taken at Racine 70.3.  There is a photographer who sits on the biggest hill on the run course and gets you while you are suffering.

Hello everyone....

I was finally able to put together a good swim workout. It was for 30 minutes but it felt great because it was right after my run. I need to get ready for my half marathon next month so I will have to increase my running mileage. All the joints finally feel fine so it might be time to increase the miles on my feet.

Getting ready for a big snow storm tonight so I hope it doesn't get in the way of my training.

Great training everyone.....

Nice job on the swim and glad to hear your running health is coming back.  Which 1/2 marathon are you doing?

Nice work Troy!  Do you do that Les Mills at a gym or on the trainer at home?  

I had the exact opposite workout today.  I speed shoveled for about 20 minutes before the gym, did a tough endurance swim set of about 2100 yards then did a 3 mile run and the run felt like it was about 20 miles.  Legs were completely dead and now I am dragging .  It was a good mental workout since i pushed myself through it though.  I am thinking it is my nutrition - gonna have to focus more now that I am back in the swing of things.

I am back from our sales meeting and now I am sick. I did manage to get 2 workouts in while I was gone. Today I am suppose to do a tempo run but with my head the way it is feeling, I am thinking of blowing it off. If I do that then I don't know which one I should skip, the hour long tempo run or the long 1:45 min endurance run. I am doing a HM in 3 weeks and I know I will not PR, I am just doing it for fun so I had something to focus on during these last few workout weeks, but I still want to be close to my last HM time.

While I lay in bed with no energy I will read up on past post. Have a great weekend!

Tim - I'm doing the Hillstriders March Madness in Cary IL. It's more of a hill workout because it's almost all hills.

3 weeks out I am assuming a taper starts soon?  do like 1:15 with 3 miles @ 80-90% of goal pace.  Nice happy median.  Some slow, go a little fast, everybody wins.  

Tim -- Nutrition is pretty much all of the battle.  Not good eats = not good everything else.  Sore can be protein, lethargic and lack of energy maybe not enough carbs.  Not enough vitamins from fruits and veggies really exacerbates those other issues.  Catabolizing muscle is no bueno.  Then you get grumpy and everyone else gets grumpy and bad news bears.  

Hey Team.

Just checking in. Long week at work after the ski weekend but I got most of my training in. I have a long ride and run tomorrow to finish off the week. IT band is holding up so far but tomorrow will be a good test - long ride on the trainer and a 50 minute run if hte weather is decent.

I will check post tomorrow to catch up - have a great weekend everyone.

KC

Congrats on your first 10K!  Great job pacing and kicking it in at the end.  that is always a great feeling.  In regards to the water you almost need to practice that as it is kind of an art haha.  What I do is squeeze the cup and kind of funnel it in if that makes sense.  Drinking fluids isn't as important on a race under 1 hour but it is still a good thing to be able to do efficiently.  How did you chaffe the nips?  Where you wearing a shirt you normally don't wear or was it from the rain and wet shirt? 

KC - glad to hear the IT band is holding up so far. Hopefully it stays that way!

phishinphan - Congrats on your first 10k!! That's a big accomplishment. You are well on your way to your first tri.

Well, I've been sick the last few days and missed Thus & Fri training. I swam yesterday. I was tired but at least the saline in the pool cleared out my sinuses. Gross, I know but it works. It is snowing like crazy here so I haven't decided what I'm going to do today. Either the trainer (boo), running in the snow, or just hiking with the dog. We'll just have to see how the day shakes out.

Hi all. 

Can't keep up with all the posts.  From what I did see, you all are doing great.  Injuries suck.  Recover completely.

Bike workouts are strength exercises mostly, which are hill repeats on the trainer.  50 to 60 rpm at high power, 90% plus.  Really feel like its a great thing.  I will keep hill repeats, either on the CT or outdoors in the mix of workouts every week.

Swim is plus 10.  Lessons really helped to even the stroke and I got a cadence counter which is helping to take away dead spots. I feel faster, easier and smoother in the water, not harder.  

All good.