Beer Drinker Appreciation Society 2 - Closed (Page 29)

well, I got three runs in so far this week- time for a bike!

Sunday my husband is doing an Xterra so it will be a long day of driving etc. I have to find my daughter's go Daddy go shirt too.

Hopefully I can get a bike or run in after he's done. The bike is awesome where the race is.

I really need to swim.

I'm really leaning towards entering a half marathon in Oct. I've never gone further than 10k. Do I have enough time to train?

I have to say the announcement of a full ironman in Boulder has me thinking- wouldn't it be cool to be part of the FIRST one. I so don't have the time to train- but finishing at midnight on Pearl street would be pretty cool!

October gives you about ~4 months to train. My 16 week full marathon plan (from Garmin Connect) starts next week, so you should be fine. Just find a plan and stick to it.

Well, I pulled the trigger today. I'm officially signed up for the Sunfish Triathlon in Meridian, MS on July 13th! Had a good day in the pool. 1000 total yards. 1-400, 1-200, and 5-100's. Never got over tired, just a little fatigued. Could have done a straight 600 but held back. I plan to do the entire swim distance during a workout next week. Two more weeks of hard training and then a taper week. Not sure how well I'll do. Mainly just trying to get my first one under my belt. Thanks everyone for all your support and advice! I'm sure I'll have many questions over the next couple of weeks.

Bill

And that's why we're all glad you're a menber Andres!

Kate: 2 things... 1) You totally have enough time to train. You've got 4 months (maybe more) to train and your already running. Totally doable! 2) Sign up for the Iron Man... I was at the first game played at Jacob's field and I have bragged about it for years (and it was just an exhibition game) We could train together. Come on... you know you want to!

Do it, Do it, Do it... Everyone chant with me... Do it! Do it!

Bill - you are the man! Way to step up to the plate and sign up for your first of what I hope will be many triathlons! You've got a great attitude. The first one is not about the time... it's about having a blast. I pray that you will!

Speaking of having a blast... I LOVED the sprint tri that I completed this evening. Night time racing was fun as hell! There was an incredible sunset, and the lake we were running around was a beautiful backdrop. With a race coming up next week, I never pushed myself and instead forced my self to slow down. But as a wise mystic once said, slow is smooth and smooth is fast. I'm not sure but I think I completed this race at a faster pace than my May race which was a PR. I need to wait for the official times to come out... But I was pumped! Loved it!

I'm celebrating with an ice cold Two Hearted Ale... So good!

You Rock! That is awesome.

That's great! Sounds like you're ready!

Glad to hear you did it. You race and train more injured than I can even think about. Yet through that, you do it smart and end up better for it on the other side. Good to hear you had a blast and didn't set yourself back. Way to move forward smartly David!

Like Ben Stiller says in Starsky and Hutch, "Do it"
And yes, you have a great amount of time to train for a HM. Just take your long run as it is now and never increase by more than 10-15% in a week. Never have your total miles per week go over more than 10-20% of the week before. Have your long run efforts be easy run pace, and do your harder workouts on shorter run days. You'll do awesome.

Just got home from Kennedy Space Center and I love it more each time we go. We managed to get into the new shuttle exhibit that isn't scheduled to open until next week. Seeing a real shuttle that close up in person is amazing.

Now that I'm back I can get to doing workouts again and eating right. Here's to a new week coming up.

From what I am reading everyone is trucking right along and having some great workouts and moments. My week of laziness ends now! (yes I know I was only gone 2 days but it feels like the wheels came off)

It appears my first race is sneaking up on me. 2 weeks to go. Being the nut job I am I came up with a crazy, maybe insane, idea. I'm not going to commit to any ideas until after I do it to see how I feel. If I finish my sprint and feel like I was very comfortable I decided that I am pulling the trigger on a HIM in November instead of the Oly in September. If I am crawling at the end I will stick to the Oly. I figure almost 6 months more is a long time to keep training and that will put me at a year from my start of training to race day. I honestly think if I can stay consistent in training I can finish it. I guess I will see after the race in 2 weeks and make my decision then. So am I crazy and have the lack of calories have just caught up to me?

Be careful. I was considering running the Rev3 half instead of the oly, and then I ran the bike course and it chewed me up and spat me out. Just the thought of running a half marathon after that ordeal fills me with dread, and I'm a moderately strong cyclist. 56 miles is a long ride, and dropping another 13.1 on top of that is brutal. I've ran a training half mary just to see how it went, and my legs were like jelly for about four hours afterward. Today's ten mile run left me fine and dandy after a shower and a protein shake.

Six months is a long time, but I would hazard that, to be in HIM shape, 25mpw on the run and 60+ on the bike are in order. I would urge caution, especially since you have been nursing injuries here and there. For me, a solid oly would feel a lot better than a HIM that left me beat to a pulp. Besides, being beat to a pulp wouldn't leave me able to drink afterward, and that would be a shame.

Kevin - You are so right about the injuries that I've faced in the last 20 months. Truthfully - most of my difficulties have come from training too hard and I need to take a more conservative approach in the future. That's something I have the power to change. My back on the other hand is a different story and it's something that I need to be more proactive about. Now that it's summer and I have more time on my hands, I need to get back to stretching and icing every day.

Charles is correct - considering your injuries, be cautious as you make this decision. With that said, let me give you another perspective...

Last year, I finished my first real season with an "unplanned" half ironman. It was unplanned because I decided to do it after completing a century that left me overconfident and yearning for more. I had just 5 weeks to train. With the help of this forum, I was able to pull it off and I can say that finishing the HIM is one of these events in my life that I am proudest of. So... I completely understand your desire to really challenge yourself but do so knowing that it will put a tremendous strain on your body and you will have to proceed with caution.

I'm not saying it can't be do because I KNOW you can. Honestly, finishing a HIM is mostly mental and I have no doubts that you could be in a position to finish one in November. However, you should really listen to your body along the way and give yourself an alternative in case you run into trouble. My suggestion would be to sign up for a HIM that is also an olympic - that way if the training for the HIM becomes too demanding, you can opt to do the OLY instead. Also, be sure to read Kevin's suggestion to Kate in a preceding post about sticking to the 10% rule. It would be better for you to miss out on the last few weeks of a training plan because you only increased your milage 10% each week then to overtrain an get injured . I checked BT and there is an 8 week oly plan and a 12 week Oly to HIM bridge. That should allow you to make the HIM happen. But be sure to follow Charles and Kevin's advice and listen to your body.

Good luck and let me know how we can support you.

Great new pic David! From the report it sounds like it was a blast. Glad to hear you were able to get it going with the back issues. After some rest how does it feel after the race?

This last week was crazy!!! Went to buy some new running shoes on Wednesday and settled on the Saucony Virratas, well before we could get home from Amarillo, we found out our town was under a Tornado warning, didn't hit the storm on the way home, but hit a lot of dust. Spent all night hacking and coughing. Thursday I was going to try out the new shoes, but while at work we got paged to a structure fire and spent the next 19 hours on the fire. Friday I got home at 0630 and tried to catch up on sleep, but went to work in the afternoon and spent all day Saturday working out at the parks. Today left town at 0400 to go to Las Vegas for the Storrie Lake Triathlon (which was actually a duathlon due to low lake levels) and when I finally got home, went out to watch my son's batting practice. When I finally got home at 2030 I decided I had to get out and try the new shoes. Just got back from a short 2 miles and I think I am going to like these shoes. They are very light and I like the fact I can feel where I am stepping and how my feet are landing. I think it helped with not overstriding and keeping my cadence up. Unfortunately after the run, I can't breathe and am sitting here hacking up a lung because of allergies caused by the dust and smoke all week. Oh well at least I got to use my shoes!

Isn't it amazing how life tends to screw everything up! I don't know anything about the Virratas but I have a pair of Kinvaras and like them alot! Nothing like new shoes to get you out running!

I picked up a new pair of Saucony Triumph on Saturday. They we by far the most comfortable of all the shoes I tried. Can't wait to put them through a full length workout.

Racing at night sounds like a lot of fun. Glad to hear you were able to make it through without hurting your back any!

Way to go signing up for your first race! Don't worry about how well you will do just do it and have a good time.

I run in a pair of Triumph 9s for long runs and Kinvara 3s for short runs, speed work, and racing. Very happy with them.

Updaaaate: My husband is in a funk..mid-life crisis, $1400 on a guitar really? Annnnd that is not the only guitar he purchased last week. Then he also won a guitar; I believe he now owns more guitars than songs he can play. Things could be worse, like a new convertible car or another woman...things could be a lot worse!

I still can't run..see the doctor this week. I am giving her back the pills and asking for other options. Going to make the appointment with the massage therapist and easy back into training. Work is challenging but great. Three families came in to meet me Friday, all so friendly. One girl even sent me an audio of a song she wrote and played; unfortunately, I still couldn't get her into the University at the tuition reduction until she meets the test score requirement.

Gotta go and talk to all the crying moms, dads and prospective students out there in the world.

Have a great day!

First race in 3 weeks! Did my first ever brick today. I look like I came out of the pool instead of off the road. This Mississippi heat and humidity sucks! Have many mixed feelings after doing this. I knew starting this morning that I was a little dehydrated but didn't think it would be too bad. WRONG! Spent all day Saturday coaching at my daughter's softball tournament. 90+ temps and high humidity. Then last night chose pizza and beer for dinner. WAY TOO LITTLE WATER OVER THE WEEKEND! Well, here's how it went.

My race is a 1/3 swim, 17 mile bike and 5K. My brick this morning was 14.1 bike and 2.27 run. The bike was terrible! I never got comfortable. It was a new route and I couldn't get my cadence adjusted to the hills. Plus I kept having to avoid the dump trucks going to and from a job. Must have been 6 of them during my route. Only had to completely stop once and rarely rode on my aero bars.

My run was my familiar loop through my neighborhood and another. No issues with the route. However, this is where the dehydration caught up with me.
My calves began cramping within the first 1/4 mile and I had to stop and stretch twice before the first 1/2 mile. They finally stopped cramping and I finished my run. Here are my totals. Overall, I'm fairly satisfied. I just hope race day will be better. Today was aweful!

Bike: 14.1 miles, 48:04, 17.6 mph
Transition: 2:17
Run: 2.27 miles, 18:50, 8:17 per mile
Total time: 1:09:12