Experior and Slornow's Spring/Summer Mentor Group-CLOSED (Page 29)

1:16 - nice Randy!

On the subject of time management with regard to training, I struggle with that as well.  My most productive work time is first thing in the morning and I also prefer to workout then as well.  But I find that if I workout in the morning, I've a) lost some of my most productive time and b) makes the afternoon even less productive than usual.  I have a completely flexible schedule, just a fair amount to get done each week.  In the winter, I find that an afternoon break works well for me (or lunchtime) and kind of recharges me as well.  Also the best time here in Virginia for the possibility of outdoor runs (or if really lucky, a bike ride).  But in the summer, if training outside, you want to work out in the morning for sure, but that makes for a challenging day work-wise.  Today I compromised, I did my run indoors at lunchtime, which was okay b/c was doing some intervals, but I really would prefer to be outside.  Afternoon swims are GREAT!  Really don't have a good answer, just sharing my own challenges.  Some days do get away from me when the work piles up and I had "planned" to workout in the afternoon.  Depressing when that happens.  Guess it comes down to priorities as well.  Training is up there for me, but not #1.

Stu

thanks for the responses on time management.  i figured those of you doing two workouts a day have been doing it long enough to have a routine to get it scheduled in with everything.  i am kind of going by one of the plans on here. but i think i need to figure out more structured workouts and trying to find a tri club to go to once in a while. next time.

i will say that i do enjoy running more than i had a while ago when first starting out.  i just bought a sweat band that had a saying that totally fit with my mindset right now: "I hate running / I love running / I hate running / I love running"

Nice job on the swim Randy!  I don't think I will ever get that fast!  That's very impressive to me, even more that you felt strong on the last leg!  Way to go!!

     Chrissie Wellington held a book signing at the IM Expo this weekend.  The line was very long and in the hot sun.  I still have a bit of regret that I did not suck it up and wait as I have lots of respect for this individual.  I have not purchased the book but it is on my must read list.

Jimmy-glad the legs feel pretty good.

I'm on the road for work today.  Hoping to get an easy ride and run in this evening.

Have a good day everyone.

Randy 

That Chrissie sounds like an awesome woman that I'd love to have coffee with one day!

Jimmy: Glad to hear your already feeling better enough to get back to some fun training!

Rene: You have put me in my place, girl! I CAN and MUST make it work.

Randy: Safe travels and I'm sure you're get your workout on where ever you go.

Tomorrow, I will either swim alone at lunch, or with swim team. I'm thinking of bringing a bunch of ripe mangoes to my swim instructor so he'll have mercy on me on my 1st day back. Doubt it, but I'm gonna try.

Tax refunds are coming and I'm going to get my road bike. I had to give up my road bike funds to help my oldest with a new ride after her accident. I can probably google this, but can you put a mountain bike on a trainer?

Weekend's coming! Who's racing!?

Jason -- Great stuff about training, running, etc. Couldn't agree more.

Randy -- 1:16 is fantastic!

Rene -- That's pretty much my approach to time management as well.  I'll add that I'm always ready to take advantage of an unexpected opportunity to train.  I always have one of my bikes on the trainer ready to go.  I always have running shoes and clothes nearby.  I always have my swim bag packed and in the car or on the bike (I often commute by bike).  Those things are just habits, now.  But the main thing is setting priorities.  Everything except family and work (well, sometimes work!) takes a back seat to training.

I'm spending some tax refund money on a few bike improvements as well.  I just got a fit done yesterday (kind of ironic since I haven't actually ridden recently...) and it went very well.  The fitter gave me some ideas about after-market things to dial in the last few elements of a good fit.

Yes, you should be able to put a mountain bike on your trainer.  It might require some adjustment of the trainer.

Oddly, I might actually 'race' this weekend.  My whole family, including my in-laws, is signed up for a 5K in the mountains.  We did the race last year, when I was in decent run shape, and my time was ridiculously below average!  The course is more like climbing stairs than running, so everybody's time was slow (I ended up 4th overall).  This year the family is signed up for the 5K again, and I signed up for the 10K.  I haven't decided whether I'm up or that.  I ran 3 miles yesterday and it was OK, not great.  If I feel like I can do 6.2, even slowly, I'll do it.

I see another gastroenterologist tomorrow.  A very strong local runner (2:30 marathon guy) who lives around the corner from me told me that he had similar intestinal problems and thought he was going to have to give up long-distance stuff until he saw this guy and got help.  So, here's keeping my fingers crossed...  (Right now, I'm sure that running even 10 miles would leave me curled up on the side of the road, even though my legs would still feel fresh.)

These are fantastic, Rene, and they demonstrate your commitment level to the training.  #2 shows where triathlons stand in your set of priorities!!  I would say "including training" :-)  I've seen quite a few posts on BT about how #3 is a source of issues / stress.  

And I look forward to your book on the benefits of coaching.  Haven't taken that step yet!  Maybe for the year leading up to the 55s ;-)

Stu

So I started off the new year with a goal --- to run a 5K in under 36 minutes. Now that I can do that, I need a new goal for running.

I'm planning to stick with sprint distance for this year (though the thought of an OLY in September keeps tempting me).

Should I jump on a 10k training plan or go for a half marathon? I looked at a half marathon training plan that was basically running three times a week.  3-4 miles twice a week, with increasing mileage on the long run once a week. In fact, according to the 12 week plan, I'd be starting around week 4. This sounds entirely manageable to me, but do you think one long run a week is realistic to get to 13.1? I don't have the link to the training plan handy, but I'll post it later.    

I'd try to get a 4th run in each week that was between the distance of the short runs and long runs (timed mid-week presuming your long run is on the weekend).  Might also consider the 3-2-1 approach (3 short runs, 2 medium, 1 long each week), but I've personally found that a little hard to schedule along with triathlon training.  Also ease into the plan and don't increase the total mileage each week too quickly.  I really like the challenge of the 1/2 M distance, but you might try a 10K along the way to gauge your enthusiasm for the longer distance :-)

You'll get better (and more specific) advice from others in this group, but what the heck, I'll throw in my $.02 based on my experience as a non-runner who keeps trying!

Stu

I had an epiphany today regarding my attitude toward running.  It's that I don't hate running. I hate shin splints. I hate feeling like I'm carrying an elephant on my back. I hate feeling slow.

I love physical activity and being outside. I love trail running.

So, it's not running that I hate.  It's what happens to me as a result of running and those are things I feel like I can fix.

I started running last July in order to get ready for a 1/2M in the Fall. I ran with a small group and we followed the 10% rule; we increased our long run by one mile each week. We started at 3 and went from there, eventually getting to 14 about 3 weeks for the race date. I ran about 3 days the rest of the week, but never any longer than 3-4 miles. To me, this is important because of the new distances; once you get to 10+ miles you need some time to recover, especially if you're tri training, as well. I was really happy with my results and focused on consistency: my 1/2M mile times were virtually identical at about a 10" pace, and I felt fine after the race. On the other hand, another guy who ran with us and missed a lot of long runs ran faster than me, but he killed it for the first 8 miles, and then crashed after that. I'd rather focus on pacing and staying in control.

Given that you are sticking with sprint/Oly, I would much prefer to see you run 4 times per week without the long run (or, not as long) that you'll find in a 1/2M plan.  That's really better than running 3x/week with the long run unless you NEED that long run to prepare for 13.1, which you don't.

ETA:  I.e., What Stu said!

Yes, you CAN control those things.  Slow down!  And trail running is a GREAT way to help with injury-avoidance as well, for several reasons (assuming that the trail is not so rocky and uneven that you run a significant risk of turning an ankle or something):

1.  Generally softer landing

2.  It really helps build stabilizer muscles that are important for injury-prevention

3.  Usually they have quite varied terrain, which subtlety shifts the burden onto slightly different muscles, giving others a slight break.

Plus, trail running is just fun.

Yes, I did.  I'll write up something about it later tonight -- I learned a lot.

Also, thanks to the various well-wishers and to the bits of advice I've gotten about this intestinal business -- all much appreciated and helpful.  It sounds like it won't be as bad as I initially thought.  Once the infection is under control (getting close), the biggest challenge is going to be nutrition on long training days.

So here's a little report on my bike fitting.  

Background:  I have had a few fittings before -- 2 were really more like quick rough fittings for which I paid little to nothing.  The third was a real fitting from a great guy who understood (as I did not, and was not really willing to admit at the time) that I needed to be gently guided towards a much more relaxed fit than I had in mind.  I'm a stubborn person, but I do listen, and eventually he convinced me.

Since then, I've worked hard on being able to hold an increasingly more agressive position (flat back, low in the front, head 'tucked' between the arms) for a long time, and I've studied and tried to follow) the FIST method of fitting pretty closely, so it is no longer a question of 'can I hold it?' but rather 'is it best?'.  And that's what we worked on.

The fitting was very thorough.  He is FIST certified and uses the FIST method, with a fancy fit bike and all the trimmings.  But that's not what impressed me -- anybody can buy that stuff, and in fact, we didn't make much use of it.  

We began with some basic measurements and testing body symmetry and range of motion in the hips, hamstrings, shoulders, neck, and a few other areas.  Then we focused in for a while on left-right imbalance (a huge issue for me as I have never really fully recovered from a knee surgery several years ago -- my legs are visibly different sizes).  I also have a bunion problem on my right foot which affects cleat placement and we worked on that a bit.  Then he had me get on my own bike (instead of the fit bike) and we tried out numerous adjustments, testing for power and measuring the angles in each.

He ended up confirming what I have thought all along since I got this bike, that the reach is correct, but it doesn't go low enough in the front (basically because I can't get the seat high enough).  I can't go to a smaller size, because the reach would be too small, so I'm going to get an after market setup on the front that will lower the front end.  I'm also going to get shorter cranks, which have intrigued me for a while anyway -- I'm not a tall person (5'7").  That should allow me to raise the seat and lower the front end and get a really ideal fit.

But even without those final tweaks, I feel better on the bike, at least as aero as I was before, if not more, and more comfortable and powerful.  All in all, I had a great experience, and was really glad that he was very open to explaining what he was thinking and answering my questions.

And when we were done, he showed me some exercises -- some I am already doing, others I'm going to add -- to help address a few issues that I have on the bike.  The main thing is that he really has convinced me that I need to get serious about addressing my imbalances -- my left leg is much stronger than my right, and this asymmetry causes problems.

Anyway, his normal price is $250, which sounds steep for 2-3 hours of somebody's time.  He knocked $50 off for me as we were at the lower end of that range, and he also thew in a nice book about stretching and exercises, largely to help with the imbalances.  That sounds like a lot of money, I know, but I'd say it was very much worth the price.  He really knew what he was talking about, and even though the adjustments that we made were minor, the end result is much much better, and I'm going into my next training block with a great deal of confidence about my fit on the bike, which is something I've never really had before.

Quite possibly, dollar for dollar, the best $200 I've spent on tri training thus far.

Michael-very interesting to read about the bike fit process.  I tend to believe in a hands on method as you described rather than just using a specific system and relying on what the "numbers" say.  What size crank are you currently using and what do you plan to switch to?  I've been curious about this as well.  I think I have 172.5 and have thought abought dropping down a bit.

Randy

Michael, please share some of these with us.  I've known my left leg is weaker than my right due to knee issues in the past, but last week I realized it can create only about 80% of the power of my right leg when I do single leg workouts on the bike.  I don't know if that is serious or not in the greater scheme of things, but I think it might mean that I'm losing like 10% of my potential on the bike... so, that would seem of interest.  Might not be that much in reality when both legs are pumping due to momentum and other physics that you probably understand (and I'm just guessing at due to feel), but I was surprised by the differential.  Might also be affecting my gait on the run, especially at shuffling speeds.

Anyway, the fitting sounds like a great experience - thanks for sharing!  Glad to hear your stomach is improving a bit too :-)

Stu

Have you had your stride evaluated?  Find a reputable sports shoes shop that employs knowledgeable staff who can analyze your current shoe wear pattern, look at your feet as they strike the ground, evaluate for pronator drift etc.  It's amazing how different running shoes can be.  I used to just buy whatever was on sale and felt good in the store.  Now I know that the wrong shoe can lead to shin spints, knee and back pain, and many other maladies.  How to find such a store?  I would look up local running clubs, call the director and ask him/her where to go.  You may end up paying a little more for your shoes, but if it avoids injury and makes you want to run more, then it is a small price to pay.  Jim

I will.  I'll wait until I have a chance to type it up properly.

Michael: That would be such a awesome thing to have out here. So many strong triathletes that could possibly makes gains with proper bike fitting! The guys at the LBS help as much as they can, but they can't offer what your guy can.

I went to swim team today. I picked my "comeback" to be on form/technique today to ease myself back in, and it turned out to be fun and surprisingly comfortable! My body and I didn't forget how to swim. I was even able to do some really strong butterflying! OK, so I almost took out the lane dividers and missed the wall more times than I can could count on the flip turns, but I did make sure to try. Swim instructor likes us all to do flip turns just as you would in a swim meet and such. I may not need to do them, but it doesn't hurt to learn them to keep uniform with the rest of the "swim team".

Other than getting a little winded here and there, It felt so good. I forgot how good it feels to glide through the water, having the pressure of it massage my body, hitting all the sore muscles from head to toe. The weightlessness such a relief on the joints. Afterwards I'm famished and exhausted. Soup and sandwiches and bed. I can't believe I stayed away this long!