kaqphin (Super Cat's) Mentor group - CLOSED (Page 29)

Hey all, race report is up.  It was a beautiful morning to run...5Ks (for me) are good speed workouts but for a race they are just done too fast! I did run a PR/PB of a 19:40 BUT BUT BUT I charted the route at .2 miles short of 3.1...however, the pace would've still seen me PR it from the last one I did.  I cannot figure out where I got speed from...my goal (besides getting better at all three sports and knocking my HIM in fall out of the ball park) is to really truly discipline myself to drop about 10 lbs...I cannot even imagine how much that will help me out.

Dia- Awesome job on the 5K with the kids again, and your son is blazing!! That's awesome!!

Pam- way to knock out the 10 miler, it only gets better from there!

Still struggling with the bike...but it's not the bike, it's where I live.  There seems to be NO WHERe nearby for me to ride, and so it gets frustrating fighting nasty wind and hills every time I ride (one or the other would be okay, but both everytime...).  I may look at doing trainer rides for my next couple of things on the schedule as I taper down (one brick left tomorrow) for next weekend as the course I'll be riding is FLAT FLAT FLAT. There may be wind--it is Galveston--but it is nonetheless flat. So, I'll get there, one of these days!

PAM- CONGRATS ON YOUR LONGEST RUN IN A WHILE.  WAY to knock it out!

Dia- its so awesome you are running with the kids.  

Brit- you're a speed demon on those runs!  Great Job!!!!  

I had one of those days where as soon as you start out you realize you have nothing in the tank.  The club ride was a struggle the whole time and I got dropped.... way dropped, by people I usually drop.  But I FINISHED the whole thing and made it home and I smiled just about the whole time.  

Has anyone ever tried an Epson salt bath?  That's what I was prescribed today.  Better or worse than an ice bath?  I tried an epson salt bath after my ride and my legs still feel tired but my whole body is nice and relaxed now (that might just be exhaustion though).

Better or worse  in what way? Epson salts are as close as I get to an ice bath and its definatley pleasant in terms of relaxing in a nice normal bath with some smelly stuff...

Give it a go and se what you think!  

Ok, I am formally asking for help here in my mentor group.  Remember when we first started and I said my biggest problem is consistency.  Well, I am in the middle of that.  I was doing fairly well since the beginning of the year, then got sick in the beginning of Feb and haven't really worked out since.  I know what I need to do, I get it all planned out and just don't execute.  So, today, I am drawing the line in the sand.   I am done being lazy and I am done eating horrible all the time.  I want to feel strong, healthy and energized. 

My goals, 30 min of exercise a day, at least.  Eating 5-6 meals a day, eating foods that fuel my body and not kill it.  I know I won't be perfect on the food, and I won't be posting nutrition (at least for now).  My main goal is to find balance, which is something I have had a really hard time doing.

So, the help I am asking for from my friends here, is please come out to my logs every now and again (just whenever you have the time) and if I am not logging, yell at me, inspire me, anything, but please help keep me accountable. 

I know everything I have to do, I just don't know why I don't execute the way I know I should.

Thank you team, for your help. 

Dia- absolutely, that's what this group is here to do.  Are you going to put your planned workouts into the planned calendar here or just strive for the 30 minutes a day?  I have found that I really stick to what I plan to do if I put it on the calendar on here.  Occassionaly I shuffle what I have to do based upon life, but it definitely helps me when I see that Planned/Actual graph that I don't want it to be short!  Having my green "actual" be lower than the "planned" blue line is a mental thing for me, as well as I hate "yellow" squares--stupid Type A personality...even if it's a short abs workout, I'll do something to just not have yellow! I'm nuts, I know...but we gotcha covered Dia!!

How are you feeling about your race this Sat??

Brit - I think that is one of my challenges is trying to keep up with the training plans and feeling like a failure when I can't hit the mark everyday.  So, I think I am going to manaully fill out the 30 minutes a day in my training plan and then do what I can that day.  Whether I have time to go to the pool, or a trainer ride or running, core, bosu ball, yoga, whatever, just something....everyday.  I know it is a balance of strength training and cardio to build up muscles and then take the layers of fat off.

Also, I know my biggest challenge with eating is laziness.  Cooking and/or prepping for every meal just takes so much time, it is much easier to grab that bag of chips.

I feel ok about my race on Saturday.  I know I can complete the distance without a problem, and I will have a ball.  But I look back and kick myself in a$$, saying, I would be doing so much better if I just had stuck with my training plan.

I promise to check up on you now.  You might regret it   My line in the sand will be drawn Sunday.  I need to get back into gear after basically floating since the triathlon. Time to pick a new training plan, sign up for an olympic this summer and stay consistent with eating (MY WEAKNESS-I've lost nothing since January and I only have myself to blame !!!!!) 

30 minutes a day is a great goal!  and if you set 2 goals for the next day before you go to bed it might help.  1) exercise goal such as "on Tuesday I will bike 30 minutes" 3) and one food goal such as "I will have a salad for lunch tomorrow" That might be a good way to set yourself up for success.   Good luck with the race and I'll be checking on you

Yep, I'll be checking in more regularly as well! And yes, I totally think creating your own plan and having something there will help you and us keep you accountable, even if you just plan out a week at a time. The plans here are for specific race training, but even then, can be modified. I modified the plan I was using to accomodate the marathon training which exceeded the run the plan had. But, planning out totally assists with accountability.  Food wise, I wish I could help you there, but I am single--so it's easy for me to do like I did this past weekend and cook a couple big dishes and make a big salad to feed my main meals throughout the week.  One thing I'm doing as I want to burn about 10 more off of me is that some of the stuff I have in the house that I know I shouldn't or that poses the greatest temptation to me, I'm done bringing it back in...some of it isn't even evil food, just stuff I snack on too much. Instead of always reaching for the yummy mixed nuts, I'll be forced to grab some baby carrots instead. I just have to balance out what I was doing, so I'm going to ban some stuff from the house for a bit.

As for the race, it's almost always possible to say "I wish I had done more A,B,C" as we rarely have "perfect races" but once it's behind you, just push forward and have FUN, and then next time take the lessons learned.  Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So long as we take the lessons learned and change it around, then we're just "Crazy" for doing tri's, running, etc....and not insane!

Britt said this one better than me - with races you always wish you did more, had more time, planned more, practiced more - something! A perfect race is very rare but if you have lots of fun then thats a HUGE success all in its self...

On the food front... sometimes the issue might just be you are hungry right NOW which is why the preparation seems like such a bother... why not grab something small and easy like a yoghurt or a piece of fruit to munch on before you start to prepare a meal then you are getting good extra cals rather than not so good ones (and youll probably eat a little less at meal times!)

More and more it is becoming clear from studies etc that when it comes to weight loss that 70-8-% of the equation is what you eat... absolutely exercise makes a HUGE difference and for overall health is essential but what you put in your mouth is definatley a key part to the equation...

Dont think you have to give up everything - if you are going to train 5-6 days per week then why not aim to eat well on those days too and then once a week have a nice chilled out day where you eat when/what you want and dont train? Its easier to stay on track is nothing is 100% off the menu

As for laziness... ummm hi have we met? I definatley try to have easy grab things around at all times whether is a fat free hot chocolate, fruit, yoghurt, smoothies, Up & Go etc and not having treat food in the house except on the weekends helps to!

Its what you do 80% of the time that makes the difference! And sometimes taking the easy option is just what we do... so dont sweat it... because the more you worry about it and think about it, the harder it seems!

Thanks everyone for your support!  (I sound like a Bartles and James commercial  LOL).  My problem is I go from one extreme to the other.  I either do no exercise and eat like sh*t or I am eating totally clean and doing 2 a days.  This time I am really striving to find that balance.  I think I am going to adopt the 80/20 rule, not make anything forbidden, but for the most part, try to make smart choices.  I don't have a weight that I am striving for.  I want to FEEL healthy and right now I just feel tired.  So maybe with the 80/20 rule and doing at least 30 minutes of meaningful exercise a day, hopefully that will be my balance that works.

Based on history, I am good and dedicated for 2-4 weeks and then I just flop.  This is what I want to avoid and exactly why I chose to join a mentor group.

I am ready to make that lifestyle change to be healthy for life.

Thanks Team, you have no idea how much it means to me that I have all of your support. 

The way you descriebed yourself is 100% me and the problem I had getting back into training after such a long layoff...

I would jump in with both feet doing two a days and 10-12 hour training weeks then get sick which Im sure was due to over trainingfrom jumping in so hard when I should have eased into it...

Then Id get frustrated and eat crap because i was feeling sorry for myself being sick... it actually takes a lot of self control to stick to small manageable amounts of exercise nad ease into it focusing on consistency rather than overdoing it!

Nothing wrong with a week off just brush off the cookie crumbs and get back with it... and Im sure thinking its just half an hour will make exercise and being healthy less of an additional stress in your life and more of a 'me' time situation...

When you get so full on with something, or at least when I do, it becomes almost an extra stress in life rathr than a pleasure.. and lets be honest, we all have enough stresses without our fun time becoming that too!

All Im gonna say is - 'Welcome to the club!"

Oh and.... "You are NOT alone"

I look at what Im doing at the moment as a 'back to basics' appraoch, very similar to yours actually... I LOVE this sport but I LOVE my sanity and my health too!

You are very smart recognising what is stressful for you and changing that - just keep on this track you are doing awesome!

(I really shouldnt have begun this with all Im gonna say - short posts are not my strong point!)

Wasn't there a CoJ thread on "you know you're training to much when..."

you start to see traveling through the eyes of training..... 

You look around and start thinking.. wow that would be a nice place to run.. all that open space and it's flat- I want my bike... I wonder where the nearest pool is.

... and in your down time you still meander through BT. 

Of course I brought  my running shoes and I will need them to burn off all this Memphis BBQ. yum!

...10 days out (cause that's as far as the weather channel goes out) you begin checking the weather for the location of your race (5 times a day)

...the tri-folks you swim with once a week (and have only done so for two months) have already assessed you as friendly, but competitive (some funny jokes last night as we swam close and practiced swimming "over" someone and when I did it for the first time I almost drowned my coach--okay, not drowned, but it wasn't on purpose)

...you've only done a Sprint but you've started planning an IM for '09 (yeah, I think I've been bit by that bug and am looking at volunteering for IMFL '08 and signing up for '09)

Jeni- mmm, enjoy the BBQ and have fun in TN!

barqhead - 2008-03-26 2:24 PM  It is so nice to be married to a sugar daddy

Does he have single brothers in the same situation, say 27-35 y/o?  My phone # is....

Sounds similiar to how I'd put my priorities if I had a choice (and a family--just me and the dog now)

youve done a marathon - you can totally do an IM, just make sure you build the distance slowly and have a plan, also use a HIM to get a feel for the longer distance and nail race nutrition!

What races have you been checking out?

barqhead - 2008-03-27 7:24 AM. 3. Work - Have asked to work shorter shifts to accomodate HIM training. Plan on taking a 6 month sabbatical during IM training. It is so nice to be married to a sugar daddy

Im with Britt - where do I get one?

Man - I would love to be able to take 6 months off to train.  I would be good as far as my husband, but I think my work would be "uh, no".  LOL

Ok, my tri on Saturday is a pool swim.  There are 616 people.  I am 422.  The race starts at 8:00 and I get into the pool at 9:24:30 (thanks to my lovely slow swim time of 2:30/100 yards).  The people who start the race will be way done by the time I start.    But, the last person gets in the pool at 10:04.  How long does it take to get 616 racers in the pool?  2 hours and 4 minutes.

Oh well, it is about fun for me anyway.   

Swimming requires so much math!!! your line about how long does it take 616 people to swim reminds me of those infamous train questions from high school algerbra.

and I hear ya on how that little whisper creeps into your ear... a little birdy has started whispering "Escape from Alcratraz" as an idea for the coming years. (Did I just say that out loud!?!?!)

But right now I am seeing how many pounds I can gain in 4 days from good 'ol southern cooking.  and I had my grilled Peanut Butter and Banana sandwich at Graceland yesterday...interesting.

Dia- at the pool swim tri I did, the famous JeepFleeb from BT introduced himself (cause he was already done) while I was in T2! It was funny! You'll have tons of fun, because yes, that's what it is about.

Jeni- it appears you've become as addicted as I have and we may possibly have the eyes are bigger than the stomach syndrome with the tri's, but then again, look how many people on here have conquered some of these amazing long tri's (by conquer, I mean complete)...I think anyone that will committ the time to training will finish at the long race they go after!  Now, let's see if we both leap over the edge with all the other lemmings here on BT (just kidding--better to leap off with fitness than with some other addiction!!)...watch out for that Southern cooking now, ya hear!

Cat- you asked what races I'm looking at, I think I want to do Ironman Florida in Nov '09.  That gives me plenty of time to be fully settled (a year +) in a new job and new place, allows me to train for and race hard at Boston in April '09, and gives me time this year (since you gotta committ to these things a year in advance!) to move to a new place, get a feel for the job, etc.  I know some folks racing IMFL this year, and absolutely want to go see them race.  If I could go watch IMAZ next month, I would.

Anyhow, I take off tonight to Austin to pick up a racing friend, and then tomorrow it's to Galveston. I've volunteered to help at the Sprint (should be bodymarking, we'll see, I'm hoping! ) on Sat, and then knock mine out on Sun.  There is a big group (20 or so) of BT'ers meeting up at dinner on Sat. night, so that should be a blast as well.